ORLANDO, Fla. – Amid a string of critical audits across the state, Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia heaped praise on the city of Orlando for its spending habits during a Friday news conference.
During the conference, Ingoglia mentioned other state audits of local governments, saying that over $1.5 billion in “wasteful spending” over a single year had been uncovered.
According to the CFO, governments were expected to grow in pace with population and inflation.
“Anything over that, we are deeming excessive and wasteful spending,” he declared.
[BELOW: Florida CFO reveals results of Orlando DOGE audit]
The municipalities that Ingoglia said suffered from “wasteful spending” are as follows:
- Alachua County — $84 million
- Broward County — $189 million
- Hillsborough County — $278 million
- Jacksonville — $199 million
- Manatee County — $112 million
- Miami — $94 million
- Miami-Dade County — $302 million
- Orange County — $190 million
- Seminole County — $48 million
However, Ingoglia also broached one of the latest audits in Orlando, saying that the city’s budget was in “much better shape” than the other municipalities on his list.
While Ingoglia claimed that the city government still had expenses it could trim, he lauded Orlando’s ability to keep the “wasteful spending” to a much lower figure: roughly $22.3 million.
“Now, that’s still a big number. That’s a lot of waste. That’s a lot of excess,” he stated. “But this number relative to what we’ve been seeing... is a lot better than those (other governments).”
He noted that the city has grown by nearly 25,000 residents over the past five years but argued that such population growth did not justify the level of spending his office identified.
In addition to the monetary findings, Ingoglia alleged that Orlando had added roughly 245 administrative positions during the period reviewed, a figure that does not include police and fire personnel.
Although he criticized Orlando’s spending, Ingoglia reserved sharper criticism for Orange County. He accused county officials of far greater excesses, saying audits indicate approximately $190 million in wasteful spending there.
A few of the specific examples of “wasteful spending” in Central Florida recently highlighted by Ingoglia include the following:
- City of Orlando
- Spent $460,000 since 2020 to count trees as part of the city’s “tree inventory”
- Spent $150,000 over three years to help undocumented immigrants evade deportation
- Spent money on a poet laureate program
- Paying nearly $70,000 for hot yoga classes for employees
- Spent money on employee training regarding microaggressions and advanced energy equity
- Orange County
- Spent $223,000 for LGBT youth services that promote gender ideology to youth populations
- Paid $240,000 to a left-wing urban planning firm that carries out its activities from a “race, social and health equity perspective”
[BELOW: Orange County leaders react to State DOGE Audit]
The audits and criticisms come as Ingoglia and Gov. Ron DeSantis push for property tax relief in Florida, though such a measure would require an amendment to the state Constitution — meaning 60% of voters would have to approve an amendment during the general election in 2026.
As such, Ingoglia announced earlier this year that he aims to show that local governments have more money than they actually need, which would mean that there’s room to ease up on property taxes afflicting state residents.
“There are defensive measures we can put in place to make sure that we hold (these governments) accountable,” he said. “The biggest defensive measure is to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot, and the voters can vote for property tax relief.”
However, audited governments like Seminole County have pushed back against these audits, defending their spending by saying that there are more factors at play than just population growth and inflation.
“While that assumption may work in theory, it overlooks state-imposed mandates; essential service demands; and community-supported programs that drive legitimate cost growth well beyond population and inflation,” a letter by Seminole County Chairman Jay Zembower reads.
Regardless, Ingoglia said the statewide effort will continue as his office pursues additional reviews and recommendations intended to improve fiscal oversight.
The full news conference can be watched at the top of this story.