Jacob Ogles
The Senate and House appear to agree on providing $5 million for an Emergency Operations Center in Fort Myers.
The latest offer from the Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee includes the funding, which also appears in the budget from the House Justice Budget Subcommittee.
Both chambers cover the costs with $700,000 in recurring revenue and $4.3 million in nonrecurring revenue.
Lee County is represented in part by Senate President Ben Albritton. Hurricane Ian made landfall there in 2022. The devastating storm, which was accompanied by significant storm surge and flooding, was among the costliest in Florida history.
If the $5 million ultimately ends up in the budget, it will be the latest in efforts to strengthen and expand emergency facilities in the coastal county in recent years.
Technically, both chambers have yet to formally agree on the project. But it consistently appeared in the initial budget proposals and the first offer from the Senate. That means it’s likely that it makes the final budget that lawmakers send to the Governor, even if questions currently remain on the specific sources of revenue to be used.
Other similar facilities around the state appear in either the House or Senate budget proposals, but not both. For example, the House wants to budget $375,000 for Emergency Operations Hurricane Rated Facility in Orange City, but that project doesn’t appear in the Senate budget.
The Senate has $500,000 budgeted to build a Miccosukee Police Substation for public emergency response. The House has money budgeted for that, but just $250,000.
The upper chamber also wants $150,000 for an Advanced Emergency Response & Operations Center in Hialeah Gardens, but that doesn’t appear on the initial House budget. The House does have $350,000 in its plans for a law enforcement training center in Hialeah Gardens that the Senate has not budgeted to date.
The House also wants $175,000 to harden the Emergency Operations Center in Maitland, which isn’t in Senate plans right now.
