DeSantis expands local DOGE audits to Manatee while bashing property taxes
By Douglas Soule
July 24, 2025 at 7:22 PM EDT
Gov. Ron DeSantis says even more local government audits are coming after announcing a third audit in Manatee County.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is ramping up his attention on local government spending practices — and Florida’s property tax.
He appeared in Manatee County on Thursday to say its local government will be the next target in Florida’s DOGE effort, which is a state spin-off of the federal Department of Government Efficiency.
“We send a lot of state money around to different entities,” DeSantis said. “I think that once you do that, you do have a right to know that they're using all the funds that they have appropriately.”
Earlier in the week, DeSantis announced Gainesville and Broward County would also receive spending audits from the state. Even more audits are planned, he says.
This all comes as the governor pushes to slash the property tax, a change voters would ultimately have to approve.
DeSantis said Manatee County’s property tax receipts rose far faster than the area’s population.
“We eventually want to get to property tax reform, with the eventual goal of getting rid of homestead property taxes altogether,” said Blaise Ingoglia, who was sworn in as the state’s chief financial officer earlier this week after DeSantis appointed him.
https://twitter.com/GovGoneWild/status/1948465882973569380?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Ingoglia also appeared at the press conferences announcing the audits of Gainesville and Broward County, which are led by Democrats. Manatee County is Republican-dominated.
“The question I've seen on social media and for some in the liberal media was, ‘Are you only going to audit and DOGE just blue counties and blue cities,’” the CFO said.
“Obviously, we're in a Republican area right now,” he continued, “and I will tell you, for me personally, as a fiscal watchdog and as a friend of the taxpayer, it doesn't matter if a county or city is Republican-led or Democrat-led.”
Manatee County Commissioner Carol Ann Felts told WUSF she welcomes the audit.
“I don't think the governor has any intention on cutting down on essentials,” she said. “What I'm hoping comes out of this is a better bureaucracy than what we have now. We tend to get a little bogged down.”
She’s less sure about the calls to eliminate the property tax.
“Maybe there's a great mathematical plan for doing it, but right now it is a source of a lot of our funding to provide those things within our communities to our citizens,” Felts said.
Meanwhile, Cragin Mosteller from the Florida Association of Counties said a lot of affordability pains don't come from taxes.
“When we get feedback from our commissioners, from the feedback they're getting from their citizens, their biggest concerns are property insurance,” Mosteller said. “Property insurance rates are through the roof.”
She said transparency is important, and counties welcome the audits.
She added: "I think it's important for citizens to know that all of this information is online and readily accessible to any citizen that would like to know how their county is spending their money."
When asked why these audits are necessary if the information is already available, Mosteller said she couldn’t answer the question.
Some critics, like Broward County Commissioner Steven Geller, have called the move a stunt.
WUSF's Lily Belcher contributed to this article.
If you have any questions about state government or the legislative process, you can ask the Your Florida team by clicking here.
This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
He appeared in Manatee County on Thursday to say its local government will be the next target in Florida’s DOGE effort, which is a state spin-off of the federal Department of Government Efficiency.
“We send a lot of state money around to different entities,” DeSantis said. “I think that once you do that, you do have a right to know that they're using all the funds that they have appropriately.”
Earlier in the week, DeSantis announced Gainesville and Broward County would also receive spending audits from the state. Even more audits are planned, he says.
This all comes as the governor pushes to slash the property tax, a change voters would ultimately have to approve.
DeSantis said Manatee County’s property tax receipts rose far faster than the area’s population.
“We eventually want to get to property tax reform, with the eventual goal of getting rid of homestead property taxes altogether,” said Blaise Ingoglia, who was sworn in as the state’s chief financial officer earlier this week after DeSantis appointed him.
https://twitter.com/GovGoneWild/status/1948465882973569380?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Ingoglia also appeared at the press conferences announcing the audits of Gainesville and Broward County, which are led by Democrats. Manatee County is Republican-dominated.
“The question I've seen on social media and for some in the liberal media was, ‘Are you only going to audit and DOGE just blue counties and blue cities,’” the CFO said.
“Obviously, we're in a Republican area right now,” he continued, “and I will tell you, for me personally, as a fiscal watchdog and as a friend of the taxpayer, it doesn't matter if a county or city is Republican-led or Democrat-led.”
Manatee County Commissioner Carol Ann Felts told WUSF she welcomes the audit.
“I don't think the governor has any intention on cutting down on essentials,” she said. “What I'm hoping comes out of this is a better bureaucracy than what we have now. We tend to get a little bogged down.”
She’s less sure about the calls to eliminate the property tax.
“Maybe there's a great mathematical plan for doing it, but right now it is a source of a lot of our funding to provide those things within our communities to our citizens,” Felts said.
Meanwhile, Cragin Mosteller from the Florida Association of Counties said a lot of affordability pains don't come from taxes.
“When we get feedback from our commissioners, from the feedback they're getting from their citizens, their biggest concerns are property insurance,” Mosteller said. “Property insurance rates are through the roof.”
She said transparency is important, and counties welcome the audits.
She added: "I think it's important for citizens to know that all of this information is online and readily accessible to any citizen that would like to know how their county is spending their money."
When asked why these audits are necessary if the information is already available, Mosteller said she couldn’t answer the question.
Some critics, like Broward County Commissioner Steven Geller, have called the move a stunt.
WUSF's Lily Belcher contributed to this article.
If you have any questions about state government or the legislative process, you can ask the Your Florida team by clicking here.
This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.