LAKE BUENA VISTA — Employees at Gov. Ron DeSantis’ tourism oversight district will be getting more money in their paychecks to make up for losing their longtime Disney perks that included coveted theme park tickets.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s board approved a deal Wednesday night that provides a $3,000 annual stipend to employees and many retirees after stripping them of their park passes and Disney discounts.

The stipend will sunset after two budget years unless reauthorized by the board.

Board member Ron Peri said he understood the value of the passes, but the district wanted to offer flexibility.

“We thought it also made sense to provide our employees and retirees who did not use the passes with a new benefit, and that is the freedom to receive the cash value of the passes instead of the passes themselves,” he said.

Talks are ongoing on a proposal to let employees purchase equivalent passes directly from Disney, district administrator Glen Gilzean said.  District officials are also working with unionized employees to ensure they receive the stipend under collective bargaining agreements, he said.

For years, employees got theme park benefits as part of working for the special district that provides fire protection and other government services to Disney World and the surrounding area.

But DeSantis’ hand-picked oversight board objected to the perks program because it exclusively benefited Disney. The board called for a Florida inspector general’s investigation of the benefits.

In 2022, the district spent about $2.5 million on Disney benefits, which employees could sign up to receive, officials said.

Employees got entry into theme parks and discounts at Disney stores and hotels through the program.

The decision to end the benefit program prompted a backlash from some of the district’s roughly 400 employees, who said they were losing perks that drew them to work at the district in the first place.

A Florida resident annual pass with no blackout dates costs $1,399 a year, according to Disney’s website.

Initially, the district floated a stipend of $1,425 but bumped up the amount with employees saying their passes were worth more than that.

The tourism oversight board also approved an operating budget of more than $190 million, setting the property tax rate of $12.95 per $1,000 of taxable property value.

That’s lower than the current rate of $13.90 per $1,000 of taxable value but still considered a tax increase because of rising property values. The district’s proposed operating tax rate is 8.2% over the rollback rate, which would generate the same amount of revenue as the current rate excluding new construction.

The board’s action to end the theme park perks program is the latest chapter in an ongoing feud between DeSantis and Disney.

The political battle started last year after Disney opposed legislation critics called the “don’t say gay” law, which limited classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools.

For decades, Disney controlled the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the entity that preceded the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. As the main landowner, Disney elected the district’s five board members, giving it effective control over the special taxing district.

Earlier this year, the Florida Legislature upended Disney’s arrangement, put the governor in charge of picking board members and renamed the district. DeSantis replaced the Disney-friendly board members with five Republican allies.

In response, Disney sued DeSantis and state officials in federal court, alleging a “targeted campaign of government retaliation.” DeSantis’ tourism oversight district has sued Disney in state court, asking a judge to invalidate development agreements that Disney put in place just before the boards changed.

Both suits are ongoing.

Disney on Sept. 19 announced it would spend $60 billion over the next 10 years on improvements at theme parks worldwide and its cruise line but offered no specifics.

Company officials have said, however, that keeping control of development is critical to their plans at Disney World.