DeSantis vetoes Seminole County appropriations worth $2.5M

Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $2.5 million in funding from Seminole County in the 2026 budget. The cuts were to programs that would have been implemented by Seminole County, Oviedo, Winter Springs and the school district for Seminole County.

In total, the state’s budget was $117.6 billion, and was only agreed to after multiple special sessions. As governor, DeSantis can exercise a line-item veto for the budget; this year he cut more than $809 million worth. 

At a press conference announcing the budget, DeSantis surprised some by saying he would not be leading the campaign to get property tax reform passed. The Florida Legislature passed a proposal to increase the property tax exemption to $250,000, but excluded school taxes from that proposal. 

“I felt like this was the one shot we had to put us on this pathway,” DeSantis said. “We have all this money here, we could have soothed this transition. Look, If someone asks me to do something, I’m not saying I wouldn’t. But in terms of leading the effort … I’m not gonna do it.”

See below for a look at items vetoed from the budget. Check here to see the entire list of projects vetoed, check here for a budget highlight document. 

Seminole County loses $1 million for smart meter system

Seminole County had requested $1 million for what’s called Advanced Metering Infrastructure.

AMI is a smart water meter system that includes the meters, the software and the communications network to run it all. It would transition water meters to be able to be read remotely, county officials said, and also be able to alert customers to possible leaks. 

The funding request was sponsored by Sen. Jason Brodeur and Rep. Rachel Plakon. It would have funded about 8,000 more smart meters. Currently, Seminole County has about 55,000 water customers and 9,000 are already on smart meters. 

“The Governor’s veto means the County will continue implementing the project through its existing phased replacement program,” wrote Chris Patton, a spokesperson for Seminole County. “The legislative appropriation would have accelerated that conversion, but it does not stop the county’s long-term transition to Advanced Metering Infrastructure.”

Oviedo loses $500,000 for sidewalks, but keeps $500,000 for a public safety project

Oviedo lost $500,000 for two crosswalk projects to the governor’s veto pen. 

The first was at Lockwood Boulevard near Seminole State College, brought by a resident concerned about students from Seminole State College and Hagerty High School crossing Lockwood. The other was on State Road 434 from Boardwalk Avenue to Boston Hill Park, envisioned as a way to connect Oviedo on the Park with Boston Hill Park with a safer crossing on S.R. 434.

Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek said there didn’t seem to be any pattern to the vetoes. 

“There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it,” Sladek said. “But I think that every year.”

Patrick Kelly, Oviedo’s assistant city manager, said the city did get a $500,000 appropriation for a Public Safety Training Facility in the budget. And the loss of funding for the crosswalks isn’t the final say on those projects. 

“There is funding for the Lockwood crosswalk in the FY 2026-27 [capital improvement budget];, there is no funding for the 434 Crosswalk from Boardwalk to Boston Hill Park,” Kelly wrote. 

Winter Springs loses $800,000 for water projects

Winter Springs had two projects cut from the budget.

Those two projects included $500,000 for the Sheoah Water Main Replacement, and $300,000 for a water treatment upgrade for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, or SCADA, system, which allows for real-time alerts when equipment malfunctions. 

“In case you have not already heard, the two city projects that were approved for state appropriations were vetoed by Governor DeSantis,” Winter Springs City Manager Kevin Sweet wrote in an email to commissioners. “Unfortunately, no specific explanation was provided as to why these projects were not approved.”

Winter Springs Commissioner Sarah Baker said that the two appropriations were everything the city was expecting from the state. And Winter Springs Mayor Kevin McCann said the projects will continue. 

“We are moving forward with the projects,” McCann said. “We set a list of critical needs and move forward. We will always pursue grants or other funding to lessen the burden on residents.” 

Seminole County Public Schools loses $250,000 for AI weapons detection 

Seminole County Public Schools lost a $250,000 appropriation for an AI system to monitor TV systems for weapons.

Seminole County has worked with ZeroEyes since 2021 for AI monitoring of closed circuit TV to look for weapons. The system uses AI, and then a human monitor also verifies that an incident is real before the school and law enforcement are notified.

In  December of 2025, police responded to a call for an active shooter at Lawton Chiles Middle School because the AI system flagged a student holding a clarinet over his shoulder as a weapon. 

ZeroEyes had appropriations cut across Florida. 

SCPS officials were not immediately available for comment.