Gov. DeSantis spares Polk County projects from state budget vetoes

It appears that Polk County escaped any vetoes of funding items in Florida’s $101.5 billion budget.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office released a list of line-item vetoes Wednesday as he announced his signing of the appropriations bill in New Smyrna Beach. DeSantis trimmed about $1.5 billion from the budget submitted by the Florida Legislature.

A scan of the veto list found no cuts for Polk County projects. By contrast, DeSantis vetoed about $1.4 million in local appropriations last year.

Some Polk County legislators said before the session began in March that they would be more selective than usual in making funding requests. The state’s financial outlook appeared dire at that point as the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a projected decline in state revenue.

But Florida benefited from an infusion of $10.2 billion from the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress. State sales tax revenue also improved in the spring.

Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, helped shape the budget as chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Polk County schools, colleges to benefit from state budget

The budget provides more than $367 million in recurring and short-term funds for projects and entities based in Polk County.

Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland receives $41.5 million in operating funds and $14.9 million for completion of the Applied Research Center. That building, now under construction, will hold research and teaching laboratories, student design spaces, conference rooms and faculty offices.

Polk State College receives $5 million in new, recurring operational funds, increasing its base budget to $39 million. The college is also allocated $16.3 million to renovate Building 4, a 42-year-old structure on the Winter Haven campus, and $2.2 million for college-wide safety and security enhancements.

Despite initial concerns that the Legislature might cut money for Florida Effective Access to Student Education (EASE) grants, the budget provides such funds for Southeastern University ($5.8 million), Florida Southern College ($4.5 million), Warner University ($1.5 million) and Webber International University ($1.3 million).

Polk County Public Schools will gather about $35.6 million in funds provided through the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief program. That money is part of $13.2 billion allocated by Congress through the CARES Act.

The allotment includes $24.5 million for academic assistance, $6.1 million for technology assistance and $4.9 million for finding students who have been unaccounted for during the pandemic. The school district also gets $7.6 million for workforce education programs.

The budget allocates more than $34 million for early learning services and voluntary pre-kindergarten programs in Polk County.

Road maintenance and construction projects

Funding for road maintenance and construction makes up a substantial chunk of the budget identified for Polk County. That includes $35.7 million for land acquisition, planning and construction of the Central Polk Parkway, a connector between the Polk Parkway toll road and U.S. 17.

The budget provides $4.5 million for planning of improvements to U.S. 98 from north of West Socrum Loop to south of County Road 54 at the border with Pasco County; $3 million for improvements to County Road 557 from Interstate 4 to U.S. 17-92; and $1.9 million for building the extension of Wabash Avenue in Lakeland.

The Legislature also allocated $9.5 million for construction of the North Ridge Trail, a two-lane road from Deen Still Road to Sand Mine Road in northeast Polk County.

The budget includes $1.8 million for the Suntrax vehicle test facility in Auburndale and an additional $5.2 million for construction of a visual barrier along the Polk Parkway.

The budget directs $17 million to the Department of Citrus, based in Bartow, for research, health response and marketing and $500,000 for the development of new citrus varieties. An allocation of $8 million to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for research on citrus greening will also benefit Polk County growers.

The Polk Regional Water Cooperative, a coalition of the county and its cities, receives $7 million for the Heartland Headwaters program, which seeks to conserve water sources and improve water quality.

Lakeland Regional Health gets $1.2 million for a graduate medical education program and $1 million for its planned behavioral health unit.

Other local appropriations for Polk

DeSantis allowed appropriations for 12 artistic and cultural entities in Polk County, including more than $76,000 for Bok Tower Gardens, $74,000 for the Polk Museum of Art and $64,000 for Theatre Winter Haven.

One More Child, a Lakeland-based nonprofit, receives $650,000 for its human-trafficking and single-mothers programs.

Other local appropriations include $1.6 million in operating assistance for Lakeland Area Mass Transit; $1 million for security gates and fencing at Winter Haven’s Gilbert Airport; $850,000 for the Peace River Center Sheriff's Outreach Program; and nearly $500,000 for the Polk County Agriculture Center and Extension Complex.