WINTER PARK, Fla. — Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia is turning up the heat on local governments, saying it’s time they stop making it so hard for taxpayers to see how their money’s being spent.
At a news conference on Tuesday in Winter Park, hosted by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, Ingoglia unveiled a four-part plan to increase transparency in local budgets. Standing alongside him were state Representatives Monique Miller and Yvette Benarroch, who are expected to file the bills in the Florida House this week.
So what’s in the plan? It’s pretty straightforward:
- Local governments would have to post their budgets online; somewhere easy to find
- They’d need to share proposed budgets at least 14 days before a vote, so you can actually look them over
- Every year, they’d have to identify at least 10% in possible spending cuts
- And no more awarding contracts based on DEI requirements; deals would go to whoever offers the best price and performance
“It puts taxpayers first,” Rep. Miller said. Rep. Benarroch added, “Taxpayers shouldn’t have to chase this info. It should already be there.”
This push comes as Ingoglia’s “DOGE” team—the Department of Government Efficiency—continues its spending reviews across the state. So far, they’ve flagged nearly $1.6 billion in what they call wasteful spending.
In our area, this includes $190 million in Orange County and $22 million in the City of Orlando. Ingoglia actually called Orlando’s number “good news” compared to other cities like Miami-Dade ($344 million) or Palm Beach County ($302 million).
But Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings isn’t buying it. “Orange County is not overspending,” he told us. “We are doing everything we can to save taxpayers’ money and also operate our government.”
Ingoglia had promised back in the summer to complete his Orange County review within 60 days. That deadline has long passed. He now says law enforcement investigations are causing the delay.
At the event, he kept coming back to one message: he’s on the taxpayers’ side.
“We have worked to expose wasteful government spending and taking notes... and eliminate the waste, waste, and blout,” he said.
The new bills could be filed as early as this week, and if they pass, your local city hall or county commission may have less room to hide.
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