Highway 20 in North Florida connects several small bedroom communities to Tallahassee and serves as one of the city’s main entrance points. The City of Blountstown is one those towns, and it requested and received $472,000 from the legislature to replace an aging water main on the highway.
“Replacing a water line doesn’t generate any revenue, per-say. You just avoid future costs. By my estimates, it was worth it," said Blountstown City Manager Emory Pierce.
He says the city wants to do the project at the same the Florida Department of Transportation re-paves the road. That way, the city wouldn’t have to tear up DOT’s work again and spend thousands of dollars putting it all back together. But Governor Rick Scott vetoed the project and similar ones in about 40 other cities around the state.
"When I saw the massive number of vetoes of those local city projects was just heartbreaking," said Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith.
Of the $27 million dollars for local water plans vetoed, a million of it came from programs in the Big Bend. Water infrastructure projects in Monticello and Gretna were killed. And Tallahassee Representative Allen Williams says those vetoes contradict Governor Rick Scott’s message of trying to grow jobs:
“And when you talk about economic development, what better way to spur economic development than to make sure you have a water infrastructure system in place that would form the basis for all future construction in our communities?” Williams said.
But Governor Rick Scott pushed back against his critics.
"We went through every line to make sure we did the right thing for Florida citizens. But the goal was jobs, improve education, and keep the cost of government as low as possible," he said, giving a rationale for why he vetoed some water projects but not others.
Scott has also said in the past he’s looking at whether the projects government funds have a return on investment. And Rick Minor, Chief of Staff to Tallahassee Mayor John Marks, says the Governor sent a letter to cities asking them to justify their projects:
“Does the project the public health? What stage is the project in? Do you have matching funds...and his office asked what metrics to you have to prove the project will achieve the goals you want," he said.
While Scott vetoed water infrastructure projects in some areas, he approved more than $32 million worth of projects in other places. Including $300,000 to replace septic tanks in a Tallahassee neighborhood with city sewer.
“The benefit is more than just that neighborhood. If we can protect Wakulla Springs and the water supply, you’re protecting not just the water quality, but Wakulla Springs attracts about $22 million dollars a year in tourism," Minor said.
Removing the septic tanks helps decrease the amount pollutants like nitrogen from seeping into the aquifer system and flowing into Wakulla Springs.
Robert Weissert is the Vice President for Research of Florida TaxWatch, a state government spending think tank. He says more of that kind of cost-benefit analysis needs to be done when determining which local government projects to fund, and which ones to reject:
“It may be a great project, but that’s not what is at issue here. Has there been any public scrutiny, or any selection criteria that determines that this project over all the other priorities, over all the other communities that may need something...for every project that gets funded there are many, many that do not.”
Meanwhile, Blountstown City Manager Emory Pierce says while he’s disappointed with the Governor’s veto, he understands it. Pierce notes most of the projects vetoed were infrastructure, while most of those approved dealt with preserving clean water:
“Sewer should probably take priority because it’s a more direct health and public welfare type issues. Just my feeling.”
Pierce says the veto doesn’t mean the end of the Blountstown Water Main replacement project. The city is now looking into getting a loan from the Florida Department of Transportation.
