Florida's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Blaise Ingoglia, has requested a list of documents from Miami-Dade and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to review how the county reached a $402 million budget deficit despite growing revenues.
".@MayorDaniella thinks removing waste, fraud and abuse from local government and offering property tax relief is “politically driven," Ingoglia said. "What a shame that the voters of Miami-Dade don’t have a mayor that actually cares about them."
In the letter to Cava, CFO Ingoglia, DOGE Team Lead Eric Soskin, and Leda Kelly, Director of the Florida Office of Policy and Budget, requested a stash of documents to include county contracts, salaries, climate-related Green New Deal Projects, grant allocations, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) ventures.
The DOGE of Miami-Dade follows inquiries in other parts of the state.
Ingoglia, who has been on the job for a matter of weeks, cited an annual county revenue of nearly $3 billion from Fiscal Year 2020-21 to Fiscal Year 2023-24, including over $430 million in additional countywide and ad valorem revenue, among his specifics to the mayor.
He also noted the state's concern with Miami-Dade's $400 million budget gap.
Cava, with the state on its heels, responded to the inquiry in a release on Tuesday. Ingoglia has given Miami-Dade until Aug. 13 to comply or face possible financial penalties for noncompliance.
"We are aware that Governor DeSantis’s Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has initiated a review of Miami‑Dade County’s finances," Cava said. "Since I took office as Mayor, I’ve governed with strong fiscal accountability and ensured Miami‑Dade operates under one of the most transparent and well‑governed local systems in the nation."
In her defense, Cava emphasized that Miami-Dade's property tax rate is at its lowest since 1982, but promised to cooperate with Ingolia's inquiry "to the extent that the review adds value without disrupting local governance."
“Our county has undergone regular external audits, with findings made public and easily accessible to residents," Cava continued. "Longstanding checks and balances, oversight committees, an open and transparent budgeting process, and community advisory boards ensure that taxpayer dollars are used responsibly.
