ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The Orange County Supervisor of Elections issued a press release on Friday defending Supervisor Glen Gilzean against allegations of illegal budget withdrawals.
Earlier in December, a report from the comptroller’s office claimed that Gilzean withdrew more money than legally allowed, spending 51% of his budget, totaling $19 million from October to the present.
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Comptroller Phil Diamond cited a state law in his report, stating, “If the supervisor doesn’t seek reelection, he can only spend 8.33% of his budget every month.”
In response, Gilzean released a county memo dated Aug. 19, indicating he had requested approval for larger withdrawals.
The Orange County Commission approved this request during its Sept. 10 meeting. The memo detailed the approved monthly draws: $4,787,091.75 for October and November 2024, and $957,418.35 from December 2024 through September 2025.
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The comptroller’s report noted that the supervisor’s office spent $2,917,801 in October, $2,547,755 in November, and $4,390,154 in December. The December withdrawal exceeded the authorized amount of $957,418.35. A spokesman for the supervisor’s office explained that the additional December funds covered invoices for election-related expenditures.
In the press release, Gilzean accused other county leaders of misleading the public regarding the disbursement of funds to support the 2024 General Election.
The release also accused Comptroller Diamond’s office of legal violations.
“The Comptroller alleged that the Supervisor of Elections wrote checks exceeding the checking account balance. This claim was based on the Comptroller’s unlawful withholding of funds. Because of this illegal action, the elections office had more outstanding invoices than funds available, leading to a temporary cash shortfall,” the statement read.
News 6 contacted the comptroller’s office for comment on Friday but has not received a response as of this writing.
On Dec. 18, a judge rejected the supervisor of elections’ request to move up the timeline in his push to get the county government to free up nearly $1 million in budget money.
Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean filed the lawsuit and requested the hearing after the county commission voted to freeze the monthly budget allocation of nearly $1 million to his office for December.
Orange County has until early January to file a response to the lawsuit.
A hearing on the case likely won’t happen until Gilzean is out of office.
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