CROSS CITY -- A rural Florida county is the latest to see benefits from the state budget.
Governor Ron DeSantis stopped off in Cross City Friday to deliver a symbolic check for $10 million, representing the money going from the state budget to help out Dixie County, population around 17,000.
That includes around seven million dollars for two new fire stations. One replaces a station that was damaged by Hurricane Hermine in 2016. The other is a completely new station going up at the site of the county's emergency operations center.
The rest, more than two million, is going to help with alleviating flood problems, including stormwater mitigation. Dixie County suffered flooding after heavy rainfall last year, and the county is still dealing with the aftermath.
The governor said such grants are important because small counties like Dixie only have limited means to address problems, with property taxes capped at 10 mills ($10 per $1000).
State Representative Chuck Clemons Sr., whose district includes Dixie County, is grateful. "We have prayed a lot about the community... a lot of people have said a lot of Friday, and today on Good Friday, which all of us are praying folks, this makes Good Friday GREAT FRIDAY in Dixie County!", Clemons said.
DeSantis also touted the state's latest employment numbers. Unemployment fell to 3.2 percent in March, and the governor singled out the growth in manufacturing jobs, saying that manufacturing employment in Florida is back to pre-COVID levels.
The audience applauded the governor as he talked about various lawsuits against the Biden administration, over transportation mask mandates and immigration policies.
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