Key Points
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.”
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Alachua County has a staggering $1 billion budget, yet blew $84 million on waste. While families struggle to make ends meet, county leaders are busy playing landlord—grabbing up commercial and residential properties, ripping them off the tax rolls, and forcing taxpayers to cover the tab. We’re paying some of the highest property taxes in Florida, yet our roads are crumbling, our schools are neglected, and our teachers are left without real support. This isn’t just mismanagement—it’s a betrayal. The BCC and SBAC are bleeding taxpayers dry, and it’s time they’re held accountable for reckless, irresponsible spending that puts politics and pet projects ahead of the people they’re supposed to serve.
First of all, you’re assuming the FL DOGE figures are accurate, but the full report isn’t available and all I see so far is one expense of $31K for a program aimed at preventing teen pregnancy, which is not waste in my opinion. Second, the Alachua BoCC lowered the base millage rate again this fiscal year. Third, Alachua County citizens have voted affirmatively for a number of additional taxes, so of course our rates are higher – *we* wanted them (well, a majority did). Fourth, there are numerous road repairs happening all over the county right now. Lastly, I do agree that the School District has a lot of work to do. We’re a “B” graded District when we should be an “A” and there are a number of individual schools that need help. But cutting taxes isn’t going to help with that issue.
That the best they could find? What a waste. DOGE is a joke.
Your a joke 😃
Trying is put into action .
Governor has put into words actions.
Your comment lacks everything.
Lead
Follow
Or
Get out of the way of progress.
We the people
Not wasteful
Not at all.
Action
So, they are calling out the usual DEI and trans stuff – which given the breadth of the claim, is chump change. So, what’s the rest of it? No? Figures. DOGE, indeed.
Every local government in the state operates with full budget transparency. It’s called “Government in the Sunshine” and has been in effect for decades (although DeSantis feels that those laws and principles don’t apply to him). The voters in each community make choices through local elections and participating in local government. There’s no secrecy there, but citizens do have to make an effort to stay informed. Local government is fully accountable to us. The so called “DOGE” is the agency operating in secrecy and unaccountability.
Who are these people in Tallahassee to say what is “wasteful”? It’s often unquantifiable and these things approved by people who were elected by the citizens of those cities/counties! That’s how democracy works. This is nothing more than a culture war under the guise of “saving money”. Enjoy spending your measly $72 a year savings. Maybe you can get half a bag of groceries with it from you-know-where.
Really lost the idea here.
10 pins
1 bowling 🎳 ball
About the 187,000.00 annual salary…fact
In 2024, we residents of Alachua County voted to approve a 1 mill increase on property taxes, which is allocated for the improvement of local schools. While rising property taxes are an issue, his assessment fails to consider that some county increases are approved by the people via vote. Will the proposed 0.24 mill cut to property taxes take from those funds set aside for school improvements? It is not clear. The same goes for certain programs that he is labeling as wasteful. He is overriding, in some instances, voter-approved programs.
Please show us the school improvements.
This is nothing but a ridiculous witch hunt.
Not really .
It’s facts that are unsettling.
Weeding out the unnecessary.
Thinking 🤔 💭 🤔 💭
Are you loyal to 1776 ?
To be honest I was hoping the DOGE was going to blow the cover off of something. I’m admittedly disappointed. Not a huge savings like they claim. Wow, $72 bucks. Cool. Thanks. And how much of the taxpayers’ money was used for this DOGE audit? Is that really justifiable?
Does anyone remember Ron’s campaign for prez? How he flew around the country with his state supplied security detail? How much did that cost? DOGE the Governor’s spending. How ’bout that golf simulator in governor’s mansion? Remember Casey’s and Uthmeir’s pet campaigns against recreational marijuana and reproductive rights and use of Medicaid fraud settlement money?
Nothing to see there. Nothing at all. All in the sunshine.
Adam living the life in the Florida sunshine 🌞.
Full of questions with thought you find the answers.
Talk about wasteful government spending, hypocrite Ingoglia and The State Cabinet just approved spending $84 million taxpayer’s dollars to purchase a 4 acre sand spit in Destin, Florida from a Louisiana land speculator (who happens to be a big GOP donor). Yes, that was for FOUR acres of land, and the seller paid just $8 million for it 10 years ago.
https://weartv.com/news/local/florida-cabinet-approves-84-million-purchase-of-destin-waterfront-property
In Florida 1960s and 1970s buying land was under 1,000. An acre….
Silly me generously giving the time away.
Even Alachua County’s own management admitted our roads are teetering on an “F” rating—neglected so badly they’re practically beyond repair. Yet families here are stuck paying the second-highest property taxes in all of Florida. Where’s that money going? It’s sure not going into asphalt. Drive down CR 235A if you dare—the craters in the road are big enough to eat a car alive.
If you can’t afford city living, you’re forced to depend on country roads that are dangerous and ignored. Taxpayers are getting gouged while leaders shrug off basic responsibilities. Safe, maintained roads aren’t some “wish list item”—they’re the bare minimum. The fact that we’re begging for them is a disgrace.
As someone out in the county myself, I understand the frustration. I lived on a road that was so terrible our community showed up together en masse to several county commission meetings to speak up about it. And you’re absolutely right, the county got insanely back-logged on their road maintenance. But I actually have a little bit of cautious optimism that they’re finally working through it. It seems like they’ve finally got the money and a real plan. It’s up to us citizens to make sure they stick to it! I’ve been tracking their progress on their Road projects page (https://alachuacounty.civilspace.io/en/projects/road-projects) and their mapper (https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/cf42b3d6284a422ca0e64b461cad1991). It looks like CR235A is slated for 2029, which I do sympathize with you on that one, because I imagine that feels like an eternity!
$6.00 a month in tax savings for a $300,000 home? Yall better recognize that the tax burden is bad and will only get much much worse for us in the lower income bracket. And what about the ever rising homeowners insurance rates?
It’s no secret Alachua County is unaffordable for many due to rising property taxes. The County would rather increase millage rates then reevaluate spending. Florida’s DOGE is necessary to cut government waste.
Property taxes are rising, but this is because of sky-rocketing property values, not because the county millage rate is going up. In fact, the millage rate has gone down for nine straight years, going from 8.9290 mills in FY17 to 7.6000 in FY26. This is a matter of public record. City of Gainesville is a different matter, but the Alachua county general fund rates are going down. What we need is for the state to act on affordable housing and to stabilize the housing market so we don’t see wild inflation of real estate prices. But that is far more complex issue and harder to make splashy headlines about.
Maybe we can get that $10 Million back from Casey. Not likely.
MORE, we need MORE auditing. I guarantee there are rocks still left unturned, which would expose more graft and waste by our local officials. Especially if their cozy relationships with developers are investigated.
FACT CHECK: Alachua County’s own numbers show $84 million in wasteful spending — and that’s just from the BCC General Fund. Add to that $15 million blown on a single lawsuit with the Sheriff’s Office, millions more on homeless motels that still aren’t open, and $2 million for in-vehicle “spy” cameras to monitor county employees.
Meanwhile, families are stuck paying the 2nd highest property taxes in Florida.
Let’s be clear: rising property values don’t mean you have to keep one of the highest millage rates in the state. That’s a choice — and taxpayers are paying the price for it.
Now, those same elected leaders are pressuring residents to approve even more taxes instead of fixing their own wasteful spending.
Thank you
Governor Ron DeSantis
campaign 🤔
Leadership.
Delivered.
Thank you tax payers, Alachua County wants everything in your pockets.
Property taxes in alachua county are ridiculous. The streets could literally be paved with gold and all the homeless drive Ferraris. Insanity.
As much as it kills me to say he is right. He is right LOL