Representatives Stevenson and Renner update Roundtable

Secretary Maureen Long has invited interested Historic City News readers to attend the next meeting of the St Johns County Roundtable on Monday, June 14th.  The special guest speakers for this Zoom call will be Florida Representative Cyndi Stevenson and Paul Renner.

As members of the local legislative delegation, Stevenson and Renner will discuss updates from the past legislative session.  They will also share their insights on issues likely to be on the agenda for the next legislative session.

A variety of St. Johns County projects were under consideration, with the usual pet projects and pork requests on the desks of Representatives from their constituents across the state.  At the closing bell, St Johns County learned that St Augustine and St Johns County interests successfully negotiated their share of tax dollars from the fiscal year 2021-2022 “Florida Leads” budget.

Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed the “Florida Leads” budget, which totaled $101.5 billion.  The new budget includes $169 million in tax relief.  It focuses on education, environmental incentives, infrastructure improvements, and support for military and veterans.

There may still be time to ask questions or address issues by e-mail sent to sjccivicr@gmail.com.  Join the Zoom call at 12:00 noon Monday by visiting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87560020935

Our legislators should be prepared to address the audience on a variety of St Johns County projects and initiatives including,

• $3.5 million for Ponte Vedra Beach/North Beach dune restoration
• $2 million for roadway improvements
• $1.65 million for improvements to the State Road A1A corridor
• $300,000 for the West Augustine septic-to-sewer program
• $694,000 for St. Augustine Beach resiliency improvements
• $1.3 million for the Sheriff’s Office detox program

Unspecified funding was also allocated to economic development, the St. Augustine Lighthouse, health and human services programming, new substance abuse treatment programs, and law enforcement pay increases. For the first time since 1973, St Johns County also received funding for a new county court judge.