Gov. Ron DeSantis Vetoes Winter Park Police Request but Allows Mead Garden Project
Sen. Jason Brodeur said the decisions follow the governor’s preference for regional impact over budget items that he may view as favoring one city
July 3, 2026
By Gabrielle Russon
The city of Winter Park scored an environmental victory and took a public safety hit as Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the new $117.6 billion state budget this week.
DeSantis vetoed $62,500 for Winter Park Police to buy more security barriers to protect crowds at outdoor public events. Meanwhile, $500,000 escaped DeSantis’ veto pen to fund a water clean-up project at Mead Garden that will leave an impact on the greater region’s environment.
“We were disappointed to learn the city’s Police Department Vehicle Threat Mitigation project was included as one of the $1.7 billion projects vetoed by the Governor,” Winter Park Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said in a statement. “We are, however, grateful for the approval of the Mead Garden Regional Nutrient Reduction grant that remained funded at $500,000. This grant will meaningfully support the city’s efforts to regionally improve water quality throughout the interconnected lake systems of Winter Park and Maitland, benefiting both Orange and Seminole counties.”
State Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, who sponsored both funding requests on the Senate side, elaborated why he thought the Governor vetoed the $62,500.
“I’m disappointed for the community, but I think it speaks to the Governor’s focus on truly regional needs over a request by a single municipality, favoring projects that benefit multiple municipalities, like a watershed project. It’s not always the case but that is what was portrayed to me,” Brodeur said in a statement.
Last year, Winter Park Police previously received $62,500 from the state and bought security barriers — a trailer with eight barriers and a gate — that will protect Watermelon 5K runners and Fourth of July event-goers this weekend.
Winter Park Police Chief Tim Volkerson said he had been hopeful to receive the same amount of money this year to buy more barricades.
“We will continue to seek alternative funding opportunities to acquire equipment to enhance community safety for our public events,” Volkerson said in a statement. “This is a continuous process as technology and the landscape of public safety evolves.
Barriers purchased by Winter Park Police last year help protect pedestrians and businesses along Park Avenue during special events. (Photo courtesy of Winter Park Police)
Winter Park City Commissioner Warren Lindsey shared the same sentiment that he was dismayed about the police funding veto.
“It was a very practical and necessary security protection that would really benefit thousands of citizens, not just Winter Park citizens, but citizens throughout Central Florida that attend different concerts and events around and in Central Park,’ Lindsey said in an interview. “Anything that we can do to enhance their protection is just a win for everybody and it helps provide peace of mind.”
Lindsey also said he was thankful DeSantis did not axe the $500,000 to filter excessive nutrients from Alice’s Pond in Mead Garden.
“It’s really one of our crown jewels of Winter Park,’ Lindsey said of Mead Garden.
He thanked Brodeur and state Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, who had sponsored the funding in a bipartisan effort.
DeSantis vetoed about half of Eskamani’s projects, according to Eskamani, who is often a fierce critic of the governor.
Eskamani said she was grateful the Mead Garden funding survived, calling it a crucial non-partisan issue to protect the environment. She had also been optimistic it would advance because DeSantis himself has campaigned on water quality through his term, she said.
“This is going to be a really important investment,” Eskamani said. “All of our bodies of water are interconnected, and when we’re able to create improvements with one of these major parks, it absolutely will impact the entire community.”
Ahead of the DeSantis vetoes, the Florida TaxWatch criticized state lawmakers for sponsoring $380 million worth of water projects in the state budget which the group dubbed as “budget turkeys” in its annual report. The group said its opposition wasn’t targeting the value of the water projects but the budget process itself since the lawmakers-supported projects circumvented a formal, competitive review.
When asked about Florida TaxWatch’s criticism, Eskamani said, “I definitely think there can always be more transparency in the state budget.”
She added, “With that said, water projects tend to be some of the most important projects with a lot of merit” and argued Florida needs more grants for inland communities to clean up their lakes and rivers.
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The city commissioners could easily fund those projects by being responsible with our money. The starting point is to terminate the Community Development Agency (CRA) which would immediately put over $5,000,000 into the General Fund to be allocated to tangible priorities instead of statues, land purchases, and other wasteful CRA spending.
Real question: So you would prefer the county TIF revenue (approx $4 mil this year) to go to the overall county coffers rather than stay in Winter Park? That’s what would happen if you dissolve the CRA. The increment revenue simply goes back to the overall city and county rather than staying in the boundaries of the Community Development Agency. You say the spending is “wasteful.” And maybe some of it is. But I prefer to actually look at the budget and you’ll see that CIP allocations are for improved stormwater and other infrastructure projects that the city would have to pay for eventually no matter what. The CRA simply allows a faster concentration of tax dollars to go into the designated area. In addition, the CRA funds things like matching grants for small businesses to improve their facades. These are the kinds of specifically tailored benefits that come with “local control,” which used to be the mantra of Republicans who preached home rule from Pensacola to Key West. But now the mantra has shifted to consolidation of power in Tallahassee rather than in individual cities and counties where officials are elected directly by the people who live in those places. Just some facts to consider for those who may not have all the context because certain people in this community only give facts that are convenient to them. This is a news site. And while I can’t respond to every comment, those who follow us here know that I try to respond when time allows to give you guys the best information we have available. We aren’t perfect and we are a very tiny site with limited resources, but we try our best and thanks all of you who continue to read and support us in the spirit of improving access to quality local news!
Hey Pete, shut up. The CRA is important, and I’m tired of hearing you whine about it.
Beth, on the subject of your opinion, I note that the County money just adds to the pot of wasteful spending by the city commission.
Putting the city money back in the general fund makes it available for all projects within the the entire city.
Virtually all CRA money has been and is projected to be spent to benefit commercial interests even though 90% or more of Winter Park voters don’t live within the CRA boundaries.
If the property tax referendum passes, the commission will have a choice to cut spending or raise the property tax rate, when they could otherwise maintain spending and allow homestead owners to realize property tax reductions by “simply” terminating the CRA.
I suspect many items related to our governor‘s influence could be cut or pared down instead of eliminating a grant for public protection. Here’s one example:
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/781067-james-uthmeier-defends-adjunct-salary/
I’m with Zach!
Pete,
I’m one who actually agrees with you more often than not and appreciate you taking to task many of our past commissioners for their out of control spending habits, but the CRA is here to stay, at least in your lifetime. Let it go please!
Maybe we can take some of the money from the increased utility rates and buy that stuff? I’d feel better knowing my increased utility bill is going toward something tangible that protects all the citizens as opposed to some niche project.
I’m all for doing away with the CRA. It should have been allowed to sunset as planned in 2025. Enough is enough .Tax money should never be concentrated in one part of the city vs all other parts of the city. And, I laugh whenever blight is cited in WP as a justification for the CRA as it was for the last expansion/extension (complete with pictures no less. Don’t just photograph it, clean it up.) Any blight in this relatively affluent city is intentional or a result of sloth or neglect. Residents outside of the CRA deserve the same access to tax dollars as those within the CRA. Unlike most who will comment on the CRA, Peter J Weldon actually understands how TIF financing works. Not to mention that WP actually takes in so much CRA money that we actually have to remit the excess tax money we take in back to the county.
Amen! Justifying a back-scratching clique of bureaucrats, vendors, consultants who are professional grifters is insulting. Just because you can get away with it doesn’t make it right.