Blaise Ingoglia targets Hillsborough County over claims of excessive taxation

Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia made his latest stop in Hillsborough County on his ongoing tour calling out local governments he says are engaging in “wasteful and excessive spending.”

Ingoglia was in Hillsborough County a week after he bashed local governments in Orange County and Jacksonville, spotlighting superficially high property tax rates. It’s a tour Ingoglia launched as part of the Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) oversight of local spending.

“The taxpayers of this county should be outraged,” Ingoglia said of Hillsborough’s spending.

Using Department of Revenue data, Ingoglia said he estimates that Hillsborough County is overtaxing residents by $279 million in the planned upcoming 2025-2026 fiscal year budget. He added that the Hillsborough County budget has increased by $858.86 million, a 56.6% hike, since 2019.

“I’m calling BS and I think a lot of the taxpayers need to call BS,” Ingoglia said.

He pointed out that the population of Hillsborough County has increased by 123,823 people in those five years, and that doesn’t justify such a hike.

“How does that add up? I’m sorry, that math does not math,” Ingoglia said.

Ingoglia added during his news conference Wednesday that there will be some kind of referendum in the next statewide election to propose that local governments be restrained from what he calls a loss of control in municipal spending.

“Property tax relief will appear in some shape or form on the 2026 ballot,” Ingoglia said. Ingoglia will appear on that ballot in his bid to be re-elected to the CFO post.

But the CFO has already gotten pushback.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings called Ingoglia’s math “fuzzy” and said Ingoglia would be better served to rein in state spending.

“What I’m saying here is that the CFO ought to get his own house in order first before he starts looking in someone else’s house,” Demings said in a WUSF report.

Mayor Donna Deegan in Jacksonville was equally miffed at Ingoglia’s claims.

“There were no suggestions. Nothing that bears any resemblance to anything that we’re actually doing in this city, nor an acknowledgement that we’re in a consolidated government,” Deegan said during a recent town hall meeting with residents. “At the end of the day, I’ve just got to say I was looking for the beef today and I did not find any.”

Ingoglia said the criticism of his claims is just more distraction by those local governments. He added Wednesday that the three municipalities he has criticized in the past two weeks have amounted to a total of $667.44 million in “wasteful spending” and said he doesn’t expect any changes by those governments. That’s why he thinks a codified ballot initiative is the way to go.

“The only way we’re going to get relief … is at the ballot box,” Ingoglia said.

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