ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Circuit Court Judge Luis Calderon on Wednesday denied a motion by Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean to shorten the timeline for the county to respond to a lawsuit that attempts to compel the county to release the monthly budget allotment to his office.

On Dec. 3, Orange County commissioners voted to shut off funding to the elections office while Comptroller Phil Diamond audited Gilzean’s spending record, but Orange County lawyers said he needs $250,000 to pay Supervisor of Elections Office employees by Dec. 27.

Orange County lawyers said that will be the last payroll before his terms ends Jan. 6.

Gilzean's motion requested that the county be ordered to respond by Dec. 19.

Debra Nutcher, an attorney representing Orange County, said commissioners have already told Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Diamond to take whatever means necessary to ensure the Supervisor of Elections Office employees are paid Dec. 27.

She said the county needs a reasonable opportunity to respond to Gilzean's lawsuit and that the motion filed by Gilzean's office to shorten the timeline is just designed to speed up the 20-day timeline issued previously by the judge. 

Nutcher said the case is not going to be resolved before the holidays. She said there is no urgency for the county to shorten its timeline and that the motion is a self-imposed urgency by Gilzean.

The judge's ruling Wednesday agreed with that assertion.

Daniel Langley, representing Gilzean, argued that the issue is urgent. He said the Supervisor of Elections Office is a constitutional one, and Gilzean has the "discretionary authority" to run his office the way he sees fit with budgeted funds.

"We appreciate the court’s prompt decision finding in our favor," Diamond said.

After Wednesday's ruling, the county's response to Gilzean's complaint is due Jan. 7, 2025, the county attorney’s office said. Karen Castor Dentel, who was elected in November to replace Gilzean, will take office that day.

This follows an ongoing feud between Gilzean and county leaders after the November elections.

The issue first arose when Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings accused Gilzean of misusing $2.1 million in surplus money to fund debt-free scholarships for Valencia College students.

Demings initially threatened to sue Gilzean for not returning the full $4 million in surplus funding.

While the elections office returned at least $700,000 in leftover funds to the county, Gilzean said he established the scholarships to expand voter participation among the youth.

CareerSource also received $1.9 million in additional funding but has since refunded the money back to the Supervisor of Elections Office. 

On Tuesday, Diamond said Valencia College hasn't returned the money from SOE scholarship funds. In an email Wednesday, Valencia issued a statement that said, "Although it would be disappointing if students do not have access to these scholarships, if Orange County asks for the return of the funds, Valencia will return the $2.1 million contribution."

The county questioned Gilzean’s spending record on non-budgetary expenses dating back to Oct. 2, after a “confidential informant” told commissioners that the elections office wired more than $1.1 million to a Central Florida nonprofit on that date.

After county commissioners voted to shut off funding to Gilzean's office, Gilzean sued the Orange County government and Diamond, saying they put his office in “dire straits” and that he can’t pay his employees.

On Monday, Dec. 16, the comptroller’s office released a report examining the financial records of the elections office.

The 12-page report shows the elections office spent about $9.8 million, or about 51% of the coming year’s annual budget in the past two months, which Diamond claims is against Florida law.

Diamond said that besides spending more than allowed, the Supervisor of Elections Office allegedly violated Florida statute by paying more than $1.1 million to the nonprofit Central Florida Foundation.

Diamond also said Gilzean did not follow generally accepted accounting principles, saying he wrote checks totaling more than the checking account balance.

Diamond expressed concerns about funds being misdirected if sent to the overdrawn account.

Nutcher said the solution for Gilzean's office is either to rescind some of the $1.1 million in donation contracts with the Central Florida Foundation with which Gilzean's office entered and get the funds back or allow Orange County and the comptroller to direct pay ADP as its payroll provider. Either way, Supervisor of Elections Office employees will get paid, she said.

Gilzean’s office responded to Monday’s report with a statement that read, in part:

“The comptroller broke the law by withholding payroll funds from the Orange County Supervisor of Elections. The court found that the supervisor had a clear legal right to the funds, and the comptroller had an indisputable duty to disburse them.”

On Tuesday, Dec. 17, Orange County commissioners passed two motions aimed at addressing what the county comptroller says is persistent overspending by Gilzean. The first motion authorized the county mayor and comptroller to take necessary steps to ensure Supervisor of Elections employees are paid. The second directed the elections office to cancel a $1.1 million contract with the nonprofit Central Florida Foundation and return the funds.

Gilzean denies any wrongdoing and claims the county illegally withheld funds.

 “I will always fight for my staff and appreciate the county ensuring payroll is made over the holidays. Unfortunately, our office was put in this position due to lies told by the Mayor and an astonishing misunderstanding of elections by the Comptroller. We will continue to make our case in court and shine a light on the laws the Mayor and Comptroller broke,” Gilzean said in a statement.

Diamond said, at this point, it’s unclear exactly how much money needs to be recovered, and that the whole situation is “unprecedented.”