Gov. Ron DeSantis and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia highlighted a slate of wasteful spending projects across a dozen cities and counties, but the full report from Florida DOGE efforts remains in the works.
Ingoglia said his team has found nearly $1 billion in wasteful spending across five local governments, including $84 million by the Alachua County government. The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) could, he said, lower the property tax rate by 0.24 mills with no severe impacts.
That reduction would save a homeowner with a $300,000 assessed home $72 annually.
But the specifics of how Ingoglia’s team reached that $84 million calculation remain unknown. He said a report for Alachua County and Gainesville would come in the following weeks.
“Floridians are suffering due to rising property taxes, whether it is in the large metro areas of our state or our smaller communities like Alachua County,” Ingoglia said while visiting the county last week. “I am calling on the Alachua County government to provide real relief to its taxpayers and put Alachua County families first, ahead of reckless spending.”
In Jacksonville on Wednesday, Ingoglia and DeSantis highlighted 19 examples of wasteful or irresponsible spending.
Of those examples, Alachua County was included for giving $31,000 to Planned Parenthood for a “Teen Time” that included 13-year-olds. The city of Gainesville was included because of its director of equity and inclusion position and its $187,000 salary.
Other examples were as follows:
- Pinellas County spends $75,000 every year to sponsor an annual “Pride” festival.
- Broward County has spent $890,000 on DEI training since FY 2020, including training that pushes gender fluidity and transgender ideology.
- The city of Orlando has spent $460,000 since 2020 to count trees as part of the city’s “tree inventory.”
- The city of Pensacola pays $150,000 a year to a management company that brings drag shows to the city’s Seanger Theater.
- The city of Jacksonville paid $75,000 for a “hologram” of Mayor Donna Deegan to greet travelers at Jacksonville International Airport in multiple languages.
DeSantis announced the DOGE audits this summer as the first stage in his property tax reform plans for 2026. He and Ingoglia have said that local governments can reduce spending while still fully fundings priorities like first responders.
“It’s unconscionable for local governments to raise taxes on Floridians in order to subsidize wasteful spending,” DeSantis said in a statement after his Jacksonville press conference. “Under my leadership, Floridians can continue to expect fiscal responsibility at the state level—and we are working to bring relief to our citizens being squeezed by property taxes at the local level.”