After several northwest Florida projects were flagged as “budget turkeys,” Rep.
Jason Shoaf is making the case to Gov.
Ron DeSantis that the state should still fund these local projects.
After the 2021 Session, Shoaf, a Republican from Port St. Joe in North Florida, included among his accomplishments $1 million for the Liberty County Jail improvements, $1.2 million into the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communication System and $650,000 for the Madison County Agricultural and Expo Center.
But now those items could be on the chopping block after being included in the Florida TaxWatch
According to Florida TaxWatch, budget turkeys are projects (usually regional) that are better funded by local or private spending, appropriations that circumvent competitive bidding or are not a core function of government. The group stresses that the turkey label doesn’t mean the project is a bad idea; they just mean that the project should not be funded either with state funding or as a last-minute budget item that was added without normal vetting procedures.