How the legislature divided the pork this year

There were a lot of pork-barrel projects funded by the Florida Legislature this year, but Jacksonville got relatively little of the largesse.

In Florida, pork-barrel projects are called “turkeys” and each year Florida TaxWatch compiles and publishes a list of them.

This year they totaled nearly $600 million.

In budget parlance, they are called member projects or appropriations projects. In all, there were 1,540, worth $3.2 billion but TaxWatch only designated 218 as turkeys.

TaxWatch is clear that it is not recommended they be vetoed and is not taking a position on whether the spending is for a good cause or not. The problem is that the spending did not follow the normal process so it could be vetted properly, or it was something local government should have funded.

There are two main components, one for universities and the other for all other spending.

Of $95 million in funding for universities and colleges, the University of Florida got the lion’s share while Florida State College in Jacksonville got $668,508 for a Veterans Center of Excellence.

However, included in the UF funding was a whopping $75 million for the UF Health and Financial Tech Graduate Education Center that will be in Jacksonville.

Duval County got a mere $3 million of the other $280 million worth of turkeys. Adjacent St. Johns County got an outsized $10 million, about the same as populous and wealthy Dade, Hillsborough and Palm Beach counties.

The Duval projects funded were:

Atlantic Beach Aquatic Gardens/Hopkins Creek Flood Mitigation Phase 4

Jacksonville Beach WTPs and Pollution Control Plant Chlorine Conversions

Broad Street Historic Building Restoration

Jacksonville Music History Museum – Casket Factory Restoration

Wayman Academy of the Arts

Agape School Healthcare Expansion

It is difficult to determine whether the relatively small amount was due to a lack of greed or a lack of clout, but in any case, fewer turkeys roost in Jacksonville this year than in other Florida cities and counties.

TaxWatch again recommended reforms that would create a process to clearly show a reason to spend state funds on local projects.

Lloyd Brown

Lloyd was born in Jacksonville. Graduated from the University of North Florida. He spent nearly 50 years of his life in the newspaper business …beginning as a copy boy and retiring as editorial page editor for Florida Times Union. He has also been published in a number of national newspapers and magazines, as well as Internet sites. Married with children. Military Vet. Retired. Man of few words but the words are researched well, deeply considered and thoughtfully written.