Kurt Wenner, senior vice president of research at Florida TaxWatch, explained the sprinkle lists and his concern about them during a news conference in Tallahassee on Monday.
“The sprinkle list, or what the Legislature calls the supplemental funding list, happens at the very end of the budget conference. Basically after they’ve closed out the budget, they can look and see we might have some money left over, Wenner said.
Sprinkle lists might involve adding money to projects that already are in the budget, or adding projects that had been ranked high in a budget process but didn t quite make the cut. TaxWatch objects to adding new projects that aren t discussed or read.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is allowed to line-item veto the budget, could still wipe out the funding. Last year, DeSantis vetoed the Ponte Vedra dune restoration along with many other local projects like the St. Augustine Lighthouse and the West Augustine sewage project. The budget goes into effect on July 1 and runs through June 30, 2022.
Here are some highlights for St. Johns County:
Infrastructure
$300,000: West Augustine Septic-to-Sewer Program for West 3rd St., from HB 3411. Sponsored by State Rep. Cyndi Stevenson, the funding would go toward building a sanitary sewer system. The request was made by St. Augustine City Manager John Reagan. According to the request, the project is expected to Improve groundwater and well quality and increase storm hardening by constructing a sanitary sewer system on W. 3rd Street between S. Volusia and Duval streets.
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Officials are also seeking financial help from the state on local projects.
Those efforts include bringing a medical facility to West Augustine and expanding septic-to-sewer conversions in the neighborhood on West Third Street.
HB 3901, the West Augustine Care Center, seeks $4 million toward a health center that was envisioned based, in part, on the 2018-2020 Community Health Improvement Plan, according to the request. The principle beneficiaries of the Care Center are lower income residents from the West Augustine area; however, the center will be made available for all St. Johns County residents.
As is common for St. Augustine, there are some historic preservation projects on the list.