A fruitful week for Citrus County

Citrus County’s business and political leaders hailed this year’s Legislative Days as one of the best yet, with dozens of community leaders fanning out across the Capitol to attract funding and attention for local projects.

More than 100 people participated in the annual event that coincides with the early days of Session, meant to keep Citrus County on the minds and pocketbooks of lawmakers and agency directors.

“The trip to Tallahassee for Legislative Days was a great opportunity to showcase Citrus County,” County Commission Chair Diana Finegan said. “This year, I was honored to partner with our Sheriff and School Superintendent in a collaborative effort to bring tax dollars home to Citrus County. We engaged in meaningful conversations with our state legislators, who saw how well Citrus County’s leaders were working together.”

The Citrus County Chamber of Commerce sponsors Legislative Days.

“It’s clear that our new delegation of Rep. JJ Grow and Sen. Ralph Massullo is very well respected in Tallahassee, and that will pay great dividends in the future,” Chamber President Josh Wooten said.

The visit included meetings with agency directors to discuss projects specific to Citrus County.

One of those is Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue, with whom Citrus representatives wanted to begin talks about funding the next expansion of County Road 491 in Lecanto. Commissioner Jeff Kinnard, who led that discussion on the county’s behalf, was thrilled with the collaboration.

“They were very supportive of a plan to move forward as expeditiously as possible with the next phase of 491 and were agreeable to look at intersection improvements along this evacuation route,” Kinnard said.

Commissioner Rebecca Bays said Legislative Days help ensure Citrus and state leaders are on the same page.

“Those discussions confirmed that Citrus County is on the right track and aligned with state priorities for economic development, infrastructure, environmental stewardship, and responsible growth,” she said.

“What stood out to me was the level of coordination and consistency in our message. This is the result of ongoing work by Citrus County and the Chamber to build relationships and stay engaged. Being present and having those conversations matters, and it puts us in a strong position as we move forward with future projects.”

The Leadership Citrus class arrived by bus Thursday morning to join the group for a day of presentations from many of those same directors. Speakers included Perdue, Speaker-designate Sam Garrison (the Fleming Island Republican has Citrus ties — his parents live in Inverness, and his sister teaches at Citrus High School), Commerce Secretary Alex Kelly, and Florida TaxWatch CEO Jeff Kottkamp.

First Lady Casey DeSantis delivered the luncheon keynote address, a coup for Chamber officials who had her lined up the last several years only to have a last-minute cancellation.

Participants later left for home knowing this trip was one for the books.

“The 2026 Citrus County Legislative Days were the most productive meetings that I can remember in my nine-plus years on the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners,” Kinnard said.

“In two and a half days of meetings it was incredibly encouraging that virtually every agency head and legislator that we spoke with was very familiar with Citrus County, our goals and challenges.”