В штате Флорида требуют 250 млн долларов для оплаты счетов по закрытому центру содержания мигрантов

TALLAHASSEE — With hurricane season swinging into full gear, Florida’s emergency management officials claim they are running out of money to pay their bills. In an email sent to state lawmakers Wednesday, state budget administrators said the Division of Emergency Management wants an extra $250 million to pay the contractors who built and maintained Alligator Alcatraz, the now- shuttered detention facility in the Everglades, and for other immigration enforcement services. “DEM has conducted an analysis of pending invoices and determined that there is insufficient budget authority in requisite categories to process payments,” the email from a budget analyst for the Joint Legislative Budget Commission said. The request comes just three months into the new budget year. The budget commission, made up of lawmakers, is authorized to approve spending beyond what is in the budget passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor in June. Records show the emergency management division has already paid out $114.7 million of the $167.4 million it got from the Legislature for the current budget year that began July 1, or 68% of its total allocation. The request for more money comes on the heels of a letter sent by Democratic lawmakers last month to acting emergency management director Jared Perdue demanding he produce a mandatory quarterly report that is now 50 days overdue. That report must detail spending on immigration activities, the remaining balance or projected year-end balance, an account of federal reimbursements, and an itemized list of equipment and assets purchased. “I’m surprised to see it because of the amount already spent, which still has not been accounted for,” said Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, of the new request. “This agency has not provided clarity on the money it has already spent, and now they are asking for more,” said Eskamani, who spearheaded the Democrats’ letter. “The level of absurdity when we are dealing with the public dime and accountability.” Rep. Alex Andrade, a Republican from Pensacola who sits on the Legislative Budget Commission, was taken aback by the new request, too, calling $250 million “a sporty amount” — and leaving him with lots of questions he wants emergency management officials to answer before he decides whether to grant their request. “I’ll be looking into this one,” Andrade said. A top concern is “how we are in this situation coming on the front side of hurricane season?” he said. “I am not comfortable with this situation.” Andrade also said he is “not 100% clear on how much the federal government is going to reimburse us” for the millions of dollars Florida spent on Alligator Alcatraz and other immigration enforcement efforts. The emergency management division did not respond to a request for comment or additional information, including copies of the pending invoices. The state spent $566 million last year alone on immigration efforts, while awaiting reimbursement from the federal government. At a news conference last week, DeSantis said the federal government has paid back the state over $100 million so far. Florida still owes contractors for the work they completed on Alligator Alcatraz and Deportation Depot, an immigration detention facility in North Florida. For example, it still owes CDR Health $16 million of the $56.9 million charged for building medical facilities at Alligator Alcatraz, according to state records. And it owes Doodie Calls nearly $40 million of a $151 million contract for sanitation services at the Everglades facility. The agency is asking for an additional $187.84 million for illegal migration efforts, and $62.16 million more to help with public assistance efforts. The request requires the approval of both the governor’s office and the budget commission, which could take it up at its Sept. 11 meeting. “The whole point of the Legislative Budget Commission is fiscal oversight,” Andrade said. “I hope to get more information and more questions answered before we decide whether they need this or not.” Perdue was tapped by Gov. Ron DeSantis to run the emergency management division after the abrupt departure of Kevin Guthrie who resigned last month to run as Lt. Gov. Jay Collins’ running mate in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Collins lost, and Guthrie has taken a job in Indiana. At a news conference last week, DeSantis downplayed the agency’s financial situation. “We have $17 or $18 billion dollars in reserve. It isn’t like if we don’t get the reimbursement next week, versus like a month from now, that somehow the states are not going to function; no, we will function, we’re good,” he said.