ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — When Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida legislature focused Walt Disney World, they mentioned it was to herald some accountability. The governor hand-picked a brand new board to supervise the land, however a no-bid deal by the brand new board raises questions on precisely who’s getting paid and the way.
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Glen Gilzean, who resigned from the Florida Fee on Ethics to maintain his $400,000 a 12 months job as the top of the brand new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District overseeing Disney, mentioned a brand new system he mentioned will enhance 911 calls and response occasions.
“The district is investing one million {dollars} for a brand new communication community and fully separating from the Walt Disney World system,” Gilzean mentioned.
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And that million-dollar funding will go to Freddie Figgers, a ethics fee member the place Gilzean labored simply two months in the past.
Channel 9 instructed you in late August that Gilzean resigned from the Fee on Ethics as a result of it was unlawful for him to carry each jobs. Figgers was appointed to the ethics fee in July. Based on emails, district staff reached out to Figgers because the CEO of Figgers communication consulting agency for his providers in early August. Then, lower than per week later, a contract was despatched over for approval and the deal was completed with out open bids from different corporations. The district mentioned that’s as a result of Figgers communication was in a position to commit inside the compressed timeframe for this vital migration of 911 wi-fi calls.
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The district didn’t settle for our invitation for an interview on the deal, however after we requested a spokesperson if his worth was truthful, we had been instructed in relation to public security the district says it appears at {qualifications} and expertise to select a agency.
As for Figgers, he didn’t handle the contract particulars or a relationship with Glen Gilzean, however his media workforce responded to our request for remark saying, “Their outdated expertise makes it not possible for somebody on a cellular phone to achieve CFTOD dispatchers immediately, forcing calls to be routed via Orange County, including 5 to eight minutes on common. We hope to treatment this shortly in order that lives might be saved.”
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Figger’s folks mentioned the contract will likely be considerably lower than one million {dollars} however haven’t given us a determine but.
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