Pinellas County Commissioner Chair Brian Scott, who welcomed scrutiny from the Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in April, has some issues with their claims and auditing process.
Scott sent the agency’s appointees a five-page letter Wednesday afternoon, before they conduct on-site inspections Thursday and Friday. He began by highlighting the commission’s shared commitment to fiscal responsibility and “good governance.”
However, Scott noted that DOGE overcalculated the county’s property tax revenues by $76 million and general fund expenditures by $81 million. The letter also states that roughly 60 of 80 specific requests, including those related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), do not receive support from either source.
“I hope this is an honest, collaborative effort to try and find ways we can deliver services more effectively, more efficiently and at the lowest possible cost to our taxpayers,” Scott told the Catalyst. “If they’re coming in with a predetermined political outcome in mind, then we might not get there.”
Pinellas officials are preparing “tens of thousands of pages of documents” for DOGE amid budget and peak hurricane season. Scott said the letter outlines some “important facts they should know” regarding the county’s “fiscal fitness.”
The letter explains that, unlike the state, Pinellas cannot increase the local gas tax to keep pace with inflation. Instead, commissioners have implemented three separate property tax transfers to maintain roads and bridges.
Scott explained that unfunded state mandates to support the supervisor of elections, human services, courts, juvenile justice and Medicaid cost the county $20 million annually. He wrote that Pinellas has the “lowest level of debt among our peer counties” despite reducing the property tax rate three out of the past five years.
DOGE’s letter, dated July 28, stated that rising property values have caused tax collections to soar by $220 million since 2020. Scott wrote that the accurate number is $144 million.
The DOGE letter stated that general fund expenditures increased by $330 million since 2020. Scott wrote that the accurate number is $249 million. “It appears that this calculation relates to the adopted budget appropriations rather than actual expenditures.”
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“DOGE’s evaluation of whether the county expenditures represent excessive spending requires thoughtful analysis and consideration of the broader context and contributing factors,” Scott wrote. “Approximately 46% of total general fund expenditures fund the sheriff’s operations … a separate constitutional officer whose office maintains separate, detailed records.”
Attached documents highlight the county’s investments in public safety. It notes that the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office budget has increased to fund competitive salaries and comply with the Florida Retirement System’s (FRS) state-mandated costs.
Commissioner Renee Flowers said the Florida Legislature recently required the county to offer all employees enhanced FRS benefits. Those costs have increased by $21 million, or 60%, since 2020.
“I have no problem doing that, but then where does that money come from?” Flowers rhetorically asked. “If you’re doing away with property tax dollars, where does that money come from? Where does the money come from for stormwater and sewer plants?”
The letter states that county leadership has “faithfully assessed community priorities and allocated additional resources accordingly, particularly … public safety, investment in critical infrastructure and responsive service delivery.” They dedicated $101 million of the $249 million five-year increase to the sheriff’s office, $56 million for roads and bridges and $74 million for one-time capital projects.
“These critical expenditures account for 93% of the additional expenditures,” Scott wrote. “We look forward to discussing your observations and reviewing the impacts in more detail.”
The letter notes that commissioners do not use property taxes or the general fund to support many of the specific requests related to procurement and construction, personnel compensation, property management, utilities, DEI, the Green New Deal, transportation or financial management.
“This ask is huge; it is a huge data dump,” Flowers said. “They’re only going to be here for a couple of days, and I don’t know how they’re going to be able to go through that number of documents.”
She has heard that DOGE will use artificial intelligence (AI), which is “not always correct,” to disseminate the data. “I think it’s disingenuous to have us pull all of that together and not stay here for you to actually go through those documents so you can ask us questions as you go along.”
Flowers’ focus remains on supporting storm victims, addressing the housing crisis and supporting people who struggle to pay their bills. “My father used to always say, and I hold this true: ‘If you say you have a problem, you should also come with a solution,’” she said.
Scott offered a potential solution before sending the letter. He believes DOGE can find efficiencies after examining data from dozens of counties and set financial benchmarks for local officials to achieve.
“Maybe even have a grading system for counties,” Scott added. “I think that would be awesome. I want to save money. I want to lower taxes. I’m hoping that’s what comes out of this.”
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