ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Proposal to add street lights, toughen prosecutions for gun crimes and hold more public meetings are among the dozens of proposals Orange County Citizens Safety Task Force members sent commissioners with a single, unanimous vote Wednesday.
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The task force was reconvened after a years-long hiatus following the Pine Hills mass shooting, which claimed the lives of three people, including a nine year old and a TV reporter in February.
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“Now seeing that they’re actually taking note of it and saying, ‘Hey, let’s move forward with this. Let’s put these programs in place. Let’s change the city.’ I’m real hopeful for the future,” longtime community activist and Task Force Member Miles Mulrain said.
However, none of the proposals touched gun access, which was the most requested action by community members in a survey released in May. That’s because the state pre-empts the county, and Florida’s Republican-dominated legislature has spent the past year rolling back gun safety measures.
The proposals that did make it through weren’t groundbreaking, and many of them weren’t new. However, task force members hope the county will fund some of the projects more than it did in past years.
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“That is part of an ongoing discussion,” Mayor Jerry Demings said. “Going forward, yes, some organizations want more money, but the question is -- if they’ve already engaged -- have they used the money in the most appropriate way?”
County staff members expect the proposals to be discussed in July or August.
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