A group of protestors interrupted Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia early and often as he briefly addressed the media Wednesday afternoon in St. Petersburg.
The state’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is conducting on-site audits in the city as part of a statewide crackdown on alleged financial misconduct. Ingoglia, standing in the City Hall foyer, said he “affectionately” refers to the initiative as FAFO – a widely known acronym for “f**k around and find out.”
Ingoglia then repeated a common and oft-disputed refrain: Local budgets have “exploded” by 60% to 120% since the pandemic. He added that elected officials use the money to expand government and spend it “on things that most people would probably not agree with.”
The group that had gathered began questioning Ingoglia’s claims mid-speech. He stopped to address the crowd after stating that DOGE has documented “egregious raises.”
“I understand that you guys love wasteful spending,” Ingoglia said. “We have some signs for you that say, ‘I heart wasteful spending.’ You guys can talk as long and as loud as you want. I am hell-bent on delivering property tax relief to the State of Florida.”
He pledged that the state-appointed team, while conducting on-site visits, would hold elected officials accountable and scrutinize the size of local governments. Mayor Ken Welch took a decidedly less confrontational approach.
“We had a successful first day with the state DOGE team, and I want to thank our City team for their efforts on quickly compiling and preparing this requested data ahead of today’s visit,” Welch said in a prepared statement. “As stated when we first received the request, the city is complying with all DOGE requests and will provide any additional information or clarification as needed.
“As we continue through this process, our main priority remains inclusive progress for our city, based on our shared values, and moving forward with clarity, purpose and integrity.”
While cutting property taxes has, at least recently, been the agency’s primary focus, St. Petersburg received a letter with 15 specific requests related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). “It’s not the specific initiatives and programs,” Ingoglia said.
He elaborated that local officials could overspend on contracts with outside vendors or not follow the state-mandated procurement process. However, DOGE wanted a list of all employees who advance DEI or anti-racism efforts.
The state also demanded a copy of all official goals, policies and mission statements, along with department actions taken to support those efforts. Administrators must provide information on DEI training offered by the city to “contractors, grant recipients or members of the public,” including the identities of attendees and trainers.
Ingoglia would not provide examples of improprieties. He said local officials are “listening to me right now,” and could try to hide similar information.
Councilmember Brandi Gabbard was one of those local officials who, in a subsequent social media post, said she stood with the City of St. Petersburg’s employees and residents “against the overreach of DOGE.”
“I am confident that this is not an exercise in eliminating wasteful spending, but instead a difference of opinion on priorities,” Gabbard wrote. “Here in the City of St. Petersburg, we are proudly elected to be the voice of our residents and are fiercely protective of home rule.”
When asked if DOGE’s actions were undermining duly elected officials, Ingoglia claimed that 70% of Floridians believe they have been overtaxed and want someone to intervene. “So, obviously, the people that they put into office aren’t watching out for their best interest,” he added. Ingoglia said he and Governor Ron DeSantis would “look out for their best interests.”
The crowd began chanting, “Watch what they do, not what they say,” as Ingoglia walked away.
The DOGE team will continue its on-site inspections Thursday. The mayor will issue a proclamation commemorating Black Business Month at that afternoon’s city council meeting.
Samantha Bequer, public information officer for St. Petersburg, said the agency’s appointees had a makeshift headquarters at the Municipal Services Center. They spent the day reviewing submitted files, and “city staff looks forward to welcoming the team back.”
Ingoglia said he told the auditors to act as if they were police investigators. “If they see something that looks wrong, or see something that doesn’t look right, then their job is to investigate,” he continued.
“They need to go down the rabbit hole and make sure they find the inefficiencies.”
