New Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Blaise Ingoglia wasted no time getting to work during his first day on the job by saying he would target the local governments of Gainesville and Broward County for audits and extensive financial information under the state's new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. Ingoglia, sworn in as CFO on Monday, joined Gov. Ron DeSantis in promising "DOGE" probes of both areas at a press conference in Fort Lauderdale.
"What will frustrate me is when I see a county egregiously spending, not being good stewards of the taxpayer dollars, and then all of a sudden put in an appropriations request," Ingoglia said.
The two counties are part of the governor's plan to DOGE 10 to 15 counties and municipalities for "wasteful" spending habits. Months ago, DeSantis created a Florida DOGE task force to audit universities and eliminate state commissions over excessive spending.
The audits will begin on July 31.
"I think that if a county, municipality, city, or any government entity is putting in an appropriation request because they want more money, and we have proven through Florida Doge efforts, through the audits of the CFO's office, that they are wasting the money that they have right now, they shouldn't be allowed to ask for any more money," Ingoglia continued.
Both Ingoglia and DeSantis blasted Broward County in particular for its 50 percent increase in property taxes since 2020, and dishing out a pricy $800,000 for a Rose Bowl parade float. They also criticized Gainesville for increasing ad valorem taxes by nearly 86 percent in the past five years
The governor tapped Ingoglia, a close friend, over Trump-backed Sen. Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota) for CFO. But a proxy battle could be looming between DeSantis and Trump over their choices leading up to the CFO general election next November.
"We as a state should not give them an appropriation of 10, $15 million if they're sitting on a bunch of money in their coffers right now, in their investment funds, in their reserves, or if they've proven that they're not good stewards of the taxpayer money," Ingoglia said. If you need money for something you don't have money, then that is a difference then if you have the money and you're wasting the money."
