DeSantis’ Disney Board Sticking It to Reedy Creek Firefighters…Again

In August, seemingly out of nowhere, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District sent out a scathing press release, accusing Walt Disney World of a “scheme to funnel millions of taxpayers dollars” to Disney. The press release from the appointees of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came after the new Board received a bill for $2.5 million from Disney World. The bill was for “employee perks, ” including season passes and discounts on hotel rooms, food, and merchandise.

Related: Reedy Creek Firefighter Passionately Defends Perks DeSantis’ Board Called ‘Scheme’

The Board immediately set about canceling those discounts without considering the repercussions. As it turns out, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which formerly controlled the District, gave those passes and discounts to District employees as a perk of their jobs. The perks extended to retired District employees, some of whom worked their entire lives to earn those passes to take their families to Disney World.

But after blowback from the Reedy Creek Professional Firefighters, the District Board came up with a compromise. They would instead give each employee $3,000 to use how they “saw fit.” However, that amount would not cover the cost of season passes for a family of four at Disney World. The Union representing the Reedy Creek Firefighters estimates that the benefit they previously received was worth more than $5,000.

The Board of DeSantis appointees approved the benefit in September, but not a story has come out that nearly half of the District’s 200 firefighters have yet to receive their stipend. The Orlando Sentinel reports that most firefighters have yet to receive compensation because “of a disagreement with the District over the benefit’s value.”

Related: More Employees Flee DeSantis Disney District as it is No Longer ‘Functional’

Jon Shirey, president of the District’s firefighters union, told the Orlando Sentinel:

We have had one bargaining session over the stipend, but it went nowhere.

This story breaks at a time when the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District is hemorrhaging employees. As we reported, the District has lost 40 employees since the new Board took over the District earlier this year. That accounts for 11 percent of the workforce and more than 400 years of service to the Reedy Creek District. In their exit interviews, some departing employees took the new Board to task, claiming it had been “politicized” and that the Board “doesn’t trust employees.” Some even voiced their concerns that the District is “no longer functional.”

Despite the massive employee turnover, District Administrator Glen Gilzean said last week that “employee morale had never been higher.” He also said that his open-door policy has brought transparency that the previous administration never had.

Related: ‘A Bunch of Novices’ DeSantis Disney Board Getting Crushed for Its Governing

Cuts to employees’ theme park perks are just the beginning of how the CFTOD is remaking the former Reedy Creek Improvement District. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District has cut $8 million in funding from security at Disney World, cut $3 million in road improvements to pay for legal fees in its cases against Disney, and, in August, cut all DEI programs and race-based hiring programs in the former Reedy Creek District.

In response to the complaint from the District Firefighters, Alexei Woltornist, a district spokesman, said:

Under the current contract, the district cannot provide additional benefits without renegotiating the contract. Contract negotiations are currently underway, and we cannot comment further at this time.

Even the Board members appointed by Florida Gov Ron DeSantis have been coming under fire. The Washington Post ran an article calling them “a bunch of novices” for how they are currently running the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

None of the Board members have experience running a District the size of Reedy Creek. The governing district was filled with political insiders rather than people with experience running a vast town-like territory that oversees Walt Disney World.

The Reedy Creek firefighters will continue negotiating with the Board to get their stipends for free passes as soon as possible.

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.