Watchdog flags $830M in Florida budget waste, Fort Myers lawmaker fights back

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—A watchdog group says state lawmakers are wasting $830 million in this year's budget, but one local lawmaker is firing back, saying that money will help Southwest Florida grow.

Florida TaxWatch released its 43rd annual Budget Turkeys List, identifying 621 projects totaling $830 million that the group says are either wasteful, have minimal impact, or were added to the budget through non-transparent methods.

The organization is hoping Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will carefully go through the budget line by line and veto projects that could be considered wasteful spending.

Among the projects on the list is $600,000 for Mike Greenwell Regional Park in Lee County. The money will go toward improving stormwater and drainage issues at the park and the surrounding area.

Republican State Sen. Jonathan Martin of Fort Myers successfully secured that funding because he says it will help this part of Lee County grow. He's pushing back on the report, calling this project and hundreds more 'wasteful spending.'

"I think this is absolutely not bloat," Martin said.

Martin defended the park project, explaining its importance to the region's infrastructure needs.

"This project builds up some of the drainage issues that are required with some of the upcoming road projects to handle the population growth," Martin said. "Not just in Lee County but also Charlotte County."

Jeff Kottkamp of Florida TaxWatch emphasized the organization's approach to evaluating budget items.

"By no means are we passing judgment on a project's merit, value, or need," Kottkamp said. "With this report, we are simply holding legislators accountable for Floridians' hard-earned taxpayer dollars."

Kottkamp criticized the overall spending pattern in the state budget.

"Just spend, spend, spend," Kottkamp said.

Also on the list is $750,000 to help rebuild the boardwalk at the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium in Fort Myers, which has been decimated by years of hurricane damage. Martin defended state investment in Southwest Florida's recovery and growth.

"It's vitally important that the state step up when areas are growing much faster than other parts of the state," Martin said. "That's Southwest Florida. Especially after Hurricane Ian, we were really, really effective in getting a ton of money back here."

This year's state budget is just over $114 billion.