The Seminole County Clerk’s office reveals that the City of Winter Springs has made significant shifts in its allocation of sales tax revenue, rerouting millions initially intended for infrastructure improvements. The redirected funds, originally earmarked for projects like road repairs, bridge replacements, and waterway fortification, were instead used to finance police and staff vehicle purchases and supplement the water and sewer enterprise fund. These changes were made without alerting Seminole County officials.
Such conduct deviates from the initial wishes of the voters who approved this tax.
Currently, the city has not shown any willingness to replenish the infrastructure tax funds that were mixed into the water and sewer enterprise fund. Furthermore, they do not plan to repay the funds used for operational expenses, which fell outside the “infrastructure” label, including equipment repairs and the procurement of various items such as fire extinguishers and minor tools.
The top priority should be to replenish the infrastructure tax fund and redirect it to its original mission.
These funds were initially allocated to handle projects like bridge repairs and enhancement of city waterways, which, if not properly maintained, have proven to cause substantial damage to residents during severe weather.
If the funds had been properly used as initially planned, the waterways would have been prepared and safeguarded in anticipation of Hurricanes Ian and Nicole.
Please reference below links outlining the original projects intended for the $19 million allocation. So far, $10 million has been spent, and we are currently waiting on the status of the remaining $9 million, along with details on how these remaining funds will be allocated.
Read request for audit and original projects list
Read full audit here
Read more on this story
Winter Springs protests paying back $2M despite audit
