Florida DOGE begins audit of Manatee County spending as part of statewide effort

Florida DOGE to review local government spending

Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia announced on Tuesday that his office is working in conjunction with DOGE of Florida to look at spending in Manatee County. Ariel Plasencia reports.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia announced on Tuesday that his office is working in conjunction with DOGE of Florida to look at spending in Manatee County.

What they're saying:

Ingoglia says that the first priority on people's minds is property tax relief, saying that it is getting to the point where people are getting taxed out of their homes.

"At some point there is going to be property tax relief, whether it is done locally by cities and counties or if it's going to be done constitutionally on the ballot," he said.

Ingoglia points towards local government's general funds as one of the places where spending can be cut.

Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia in Manatee County regarding statewide DOGE audits

Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia held a press conference regarding a statewide effort to cut down on fraud, waste and abuse.

"General funds for local governments, the part that gets funded by property taxes, have expanded in every county anywhere from 60 to 120 percent," he said. "So this is an exercise where we can go in, and we can start identifying some of the spending issues that may not be the best use of taxpayer dollars."

The backstory:

This is all part of a statewide effort to cut down on fraud, waste and abuse, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

On July 24, DeSantis announced that the State of Florida’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would conduct an audit of Manatee County.

Florida's DOGE task force models after the federal government’s plan to build up government efficiency.

Pictured: Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia speaks at a news conference in Manatee County on Aug. 5, 2025.

A team of auditors and members from various state agencies will "conduct reviews of the data systems, physical premises and personnel of counties and cities that have thus far refused to cooperate with us to identify and report on any excessive spending patterns," DeSantis said.

Ingoglia was recently sworn in as CFO of Florida and says he wants taxpayers to get the most out of their local governments.

"You have to ask yourself: Are the taxpayers getting the most bang for their buck?" Ingoglia said during a news conference with DeSantis on July 24. "Are local governments actually spending frugally, fiscally, as if it was their money?"

Local perspective:

When it comes to local fire or police agencies, Ingoglia says that people don't need to worry about a cut to their funding.

"The very first thing you budget for is fire and police, because the first role of government is to protect its citizens. It does not make any sense to cut those programs," he said.

Attached below are copies of the letters that the state DOGE team sent to Manatee County, Hillsborough County, Pinellas County and the city of St. Pete.