Blaise Ingoglia again blasts Jacksonville budget, alleges $275M in wasteful spending this fiscal year

Jacksonville’s $2.06 billion General Fund budget is even more bloated with unnecessary spending than originally thought, according to Florida’s Chief Financial Officer.

Blaise Ingoglia has sparred with Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan on this topic before, with a hologram of Deegan at the Jacksonville International Airport getting particular scrutiny, and Monday saw him return to The River City to rip purported profligacy once more.

“If you thought I was going away, think again,” the Spring Hill Republican quipped.

Ingoglia said he had previously identified $199 million in excess expenditures in the budget, but alleges the problem has gotten even worse in the FY 25-26 budget that was approved last September, with “tone deaf” Jacksonville not having “heeded the warning from taxpayers” and “doubled down on wasteful spending.”

The new number is $275 million.

He linked the increased spending to property taxes, politicking in his official role for the homestead property tax exemption increase on November’s ballot.

“You can’t continue to raise people’s taxes. You cannot continue to raise people’s costs of living, and then, at the same time, complain about affordability, because that’s what a lot of these politicians are doing. They’re saying on one side of their mouth, ‘Hey, we have an affordability issue.’ And then on the other side of the mouth, they’re saying that they don’t want to cut property taxes,” Ingoglia said.

He said the budget should have increased by 41% since FY 19-20 due to increases in inflation, the Consumer Price Index, and population, with a 5% “buffer” added for large cities that amounts to $69 million, Jacksonville’s budget was actually up 61%.

“Somebody needs to rein in local government here. It’s going to be the taxpayers in November,” Ingoglia said, saying property taxes could be cut by 1.49 mills.

Over the six year period Ingoglia tracked, he said there was $623 million in overspending, with a “lot of it being spent on expanding government and useless programs that really do nothing.”

The money is not used for what taxpayers need, he continued.

“I would ask people, as you’re driving around the city of Jacksonville, and next time you hit a pothole, or the next time that your car rattles because you’re driving on an uneven road, did your roads get fixed? Where are the water projects? Where are the infrastructure projects? Where is all that? This money is gone. I hate to say it, this money is gone. The city of Jacksonville wasted $623 million of your taxpayer dollars over the last six years.”

He said all of the “excessive and wasteful” expenditures identified had happened under Deegan’s watch, as contrasted to the Lenny Curry era, which he said saw the city avoid “obnoxious spending.”

Ingoglia said Jacksonville’s revenue would be $277 million lighter if the property tax amendment passes, a number that jibes with the $275 million he identified as spending overage.

“It is clear that government does not need that extra money to function,” Ingoglia said.

Ingoglia accused Deegan of being willing to employ “scare tactics” to keep the “bloated budget gravy train” going, saying the people are with him. He also suggested that employees hired recently in anticipation of having the current level of revenue may need to be fired.

In addition to the constitutional amendment on November’s ballot, Deegan is up for re-election next year. Thus far, no serious opposition has surfaced, though Republicans looking at the race include House Speaker Pro Tempore Wyman Duggan and City Councilman Ron Salem.

Florida Politics reached out to Deegan’s office for comment and will update when provided.