Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Blaise Ingoglia (R) has been traveling the state as of late, embracing his Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight (FAFO) audits, and showing Floridians how their tax dollars are being used. After Florida CFO Ingoglia named Miami-Dade County as a culprit of "excessive, wasteful spending," Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is setting the record straight, affirming that "Miami-Dade is leading with transparency and fiscal responsibility."
In a statement, Mayor Levine Cava reaffirmed her administration’s commitment to transparency, fiscal responsibility, and community investment, highlighting key achievements since taking office.
“Since I took office as Mayor, I’ve made sure that Miami-Dade is one of the most transparent and fiscally responsible local administrations in the nation,” Mayor Levine Cava said. She emphasized that her administration has “found ways to put money back in taxpayers’ pockets and keep costs low for our families – while investing in your priorities.”
She informed that, under her leadership, the county has reduced the property tax rate two years in a row, reaching “the lowest rate since 1982.”
Mayor Levine Cava noted that “every year of my administration, we have passed our budget with strong bipartisan support,” highlighting collaboration across party lines.
She also pointed to reforms aimed at improving efficiency, including streamlined budgets, reduced executive salaries, and modernized systems like permitting. “We have built an even more effective, efficient government to save you money,” she asserted.
The mayor’s comments directly contradict Florida CFO Ingoglia’s findings, which he noted were the highest amount of wasteful spending that was uncovered across the nine local governments that he has reviewed.
Announcing that “Miami-Dade County takes the cake,” when it comes to wasteful spending, Florida CFO Ingoglia declared in a recent press conference that Miami-Dade County has “overspent and overtaxed their residents to the tune of $302 million, and they have exploded the local government bureaucracy with the hiring of more than 2800 employees over just the last 5 years.”
Despite the accusations against her administration, Mayor Levine Cava maintains that she has made an effort to invest in public safety, citing a “historic $1.15 billion” allocation for the Sheriff’s Office this year. At the same time, she commented that the county continues “spending tax dollars wisely on the priorities that matter most to our residents, like housing, transit, economic opportunity, and infrastructure.”
