The county, home to about 1.5 million residents, has an overall budget of $6.7 billion and an estimated IT budget of $135 million, according to Industry Navigator*.
As for mentions of tech, the mayor highlighted the following during his speech:
- Procurement and bidding: “Orange County’s Procurement Division organized its first contracting academy to assist local businesses in navigating the county’s bidding process. The goal is to increase the number of small and medium-sized businesses working with Orange County.”
- Broadband expansion: “Over the past two years, Orange County has strategically allocated over $240 million in ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] funding across crucial areas. These areas include small-business assistance, health services, public safety and increased access to broadband. Regarding broadband, we used ARPA funding to target unserved areas in Bithlo, Christmas and South Apopka to ensure residents have access to Internet service. That project will be completed this summer.”
- Smart city innovation: “Earlier this year, Plug and Play, a global innovation platform dedicated to advancing smart cities technologists, launched its new office in Orange County. Orange County allocated $1.5 million to Plug and Play to help boost local business growth and continue our vision of connected and thriving ecosystems for smart city innovation.”
The mayor’s full speech can be found online.
*Industry Navigator is a product of the Center for Digital Government, a sister organization to Industry Insider — Florida.
