Although the 2 storm water projects submitted by the City of Brooksville to the state legislature passed fully funded, Governor Rick Scott ended up vetoing both explained Shawn Foster, lobbyist for the city. The following describes the two vetoed projects:
1. Liberty Street- total project is $206,000, asked for $150,000 in funding for restoring embankments that have been damaged from erosion on the brook north and south of Liberty Street.
2. Horselake Creek Project – $500,000 project, asked for 100% funding for removing 5000 cubic yards of silt from the bottom of the creek which is a major storm water drainage resource for Brooksville. Additionally, they were planning to reinforce a sewer pipe with concrete to prevent future damage.
Foster was very disappointed as the largest amount in 15 years was vetoed by the governor: a total of $461 million. He explained that $27 million out of the $461 million projects vetoed were water projects.
“Blaise Ingoglia called me within minutes… when the vetoes came back from the Governor. You could sense it in his voice how disappointed he was that neither of the projects had made it forth. I also talked to Senator Simpson and…[he] tried to take it on his own account that it was his fault that these didn’t get funded.” “I explained to him that it was all of us, it was a by-product of political gamesmanship.”
Committee week starts in September.