By Jim Carchidi
August 25, 2026
Orange County Commissioners have accepted recommendations for more than $1.1 billion in Tourism Development Tax funding, but the process is still far from over. County staff have been charged with developing a fiscal analysis for funding the proposals advanced by the Citizen Advisory Task Force.
New questions
A $20 million Orange Audubon Society proposal for a free eco-tourism attraction in Apopka was among the task force recommendations.
What began as 20 capital project proposals from local arts, sports, and educational organizations was narrowed down to 12 and announced on Aug. 11 after weeks of task force reviews. The remainder was meant to be a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners for funding allocations from the 6% hospitality lodging tax. But details and unanswered questions caused confusion and some contention during the Aug. 25 board meeting.
District 5 Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad said the review process felt “rushed” while District 6 Commissioner Michael Scott suggested a separate commission review of all 20 proposals.
Perspective
A proposed $750 million expansion of Dr. Phillips Center was supported by commissioners, but for a lesser allocation.
District 3 Commissioner Mayra Uribe supported allocations for large projects, such as the $750 million expansion of Dr. Phillips Center, but not in the full amount. She also emphasized the need to distribute funds to smaller projects with large municipal impacts.
“It really excites me to see smaller opportunities where these cities and smaller organizations can actually benefit from these funds,” she said.
Citizen Advisory Task Force Co-Chair and former Orange County Mayor Linda Chapin offered some perspective on the funding requests.
“They expect to come and work through those numbers with you,” she said. “I don’t think they’re going to be surprised if you say, ‘I don’t think we can give you $750 million this year.’”
Staff directive
Chapin’s comment bore additional weight after a county staff report confirmed insufficient funding to cover all recommended projects while maintaining the county’s target reserve level of $300 million.
Adjusted funding scenarios were presented to the board; some did not leave room for all of the 12 proposals while others reduced funding across the board. Mayor Jerry Demings moved to accept the task force recommendations with a staff directive to work with the county comptroller and the 12 organizations on funding allocation adjustments.
“They would come back with specific funding options for the Board of County Commissioners to consider at a later date,” Demings said. “It empowers the staff to do the work, bring it to the board, but not undo all the work that the task force has done.”
Additional recommendations
Aside from TDT funding, the citizen task force recommended commissioners explore "every avenue to advance alternative uses of the tax." Among the alternative use suggestions are transportation and affordable housing.
Florida law requires counties spend at least 40% of their TDT revenue on tourism advertising and marketing before the remaining funds can be allocated to public projects.
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About the Author
Jim Carchidi is an Orlando journalist and photographer with previous work at the Orlando Sentinel and Orlando Business Journal. He covers development, arts, culture, and local stories for The Orlando Real.
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