ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Effects from the controversy surrounding millions of dollars in “inappropriate” funding by Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean are reaching the halls of Tallahassee as lawmakers prepare for the upcoming legislative session.
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The headlines began nearly two weeks ago when WFTV revealed Gilzean sent $2.1 million to Valencia College for scholarships, and were further fueled when CareerSource alerted the county they struck a $1.9 million deal with the elections office – all behind commissioner’s backs.
Voters reacted to the news angrily, recalling standing in hours-long lines to wait to cast a ballot in November. Poll workers complained their locations were understaffed and under-resourced.
“Here we are at the end of this looking at this money that could’ve been used for good consistent training,” Commissioner Nicole Wilson said, “That could’ve been used to open up polling places so the lines weren’t like that.”
Mayor Jerry Demings chalked up the ordeal to “bad governance.”
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Gilzean maintains he was allowed to spend the money his office was budgeted as he saw fit. Orange County attorneys dispute that and are preparing for legal action.
Tuesday night, the attorneys cited several state statutes that deal with constitutional officer and election supervisor budgeting – but don’t explicitly say how money should be spent or when permission from a county was needed after the initial budget request.
Realizing that, State Senator Jason Brodeur (R-Seminole) said local officials from his county reached out to him as they absorbed the updates, asking if anything could be done at the state level to prevent what he admitted was a loophole – because this situation has never happened before.
“The folks who are the appropriators in this regard are actually the county commission and not the constitutionals themselves,” Brodeur said, speaking of elected positions like a sheriff, tax collector or elections supervisor. “We want to make sure that all of those incentives are aligned to protect the taxpayers.”
Brodeur explained that he’s had concerns about constitutional officers’ budgets for years because there’s no uniformity when it comes to amending a budget. Some counties require their officers to seek permission from commissioners, while others from budget staff, he said.
Brodeur said he believed there was appetite for modifying the law to close any potential loopholes moving forward, citing a hypothetical example of a sheriff taking money designated for victim’s services and using it to purchase a helicopter.
“We believe very strongly that this is not our money, it’s the taxpayers’ money,” he said. “We want to make sure it’s being spent in a manner that is as efficient and is productive as it possibly can be.”
Incoming supervisor Karen Castor Dentel has promised to work with the county to recover the funds, which could include accepting Valencia College’s offer to return its portion if asked.
The legislative session begins in March, though lawmakers will begin to draft their bills in the coming weeks.
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