Politics
Blaise Ingoglia wants to add more auditors in his Office as he focuses on wasteful spending
Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia says his Office plans to spend more in order to save taxpayer money.
He is pledging to probe every government in Florida and wants to hire more auditors, certified public accountants and local government experts, he said at a press conference focused on the city of Orlando’s spending.
“We’re looking to expand it because the taxpayers deserve transparency and fiscal responsibility,” Ingoglia said. “We’re not going to be able to do events like these press conferences, but our goal is to do every single government, every single taxing authority in the state of Florida, and show people how their local governments are spending.”
His Office did not immediately respond Friday afternoon to questions about how many employees he envisions hiring and at what cost, nor did Ingoglia elaborate on those details at a press conference in Orlando.
“I have constitutional authority to do so. Our Office has always had the ability to do so. It’s my understanding it’s never been used before,” Ingoglia said about his plans to expand.
As Ingoglia spoke, behind him were photos of elected officials in his crosshairs like Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan. The timing of Ingoglia’s press conference in Orlando was less than 24 hours after Demings launched his bid for Governor.
Sounding more subdued, Ingoglia acknowledged that the city of Orlando’s budget — the focus of Friday’s announcement — wasn’t as alarming compared to other parts of Florida he probed.
Ingoglia said Orlando’s budget contained $22 million in excess spending, which was “nowhere near where we’ve seen other governments.”
“Anyone who wants to try to impugn what we’re doing, we’re proving today that this isn’t a partisan exercise,” Ingoglia said. “Our methodology is very simple. The government should never, ever grow faster than inflation and population.”
Without going into specifics on which programs Orlando should cut, Ingoglia said his office calculated that $22 million “is still wasteful and excessive spending” and he urged the city to find cuts.
“This is still money that could very easily, according to our calculations, be cut out of the budget and offer property tax relief. But this is the lowest amount that we have seen so far after reviewing 10 local governments on both a percentage basis and a raw dollar amount,” Ingoglia said. “This is a relatively sane amount of spending in an insane spending environment compared to other local governments.”
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer defended the city’s budget when reached for comment.
“I’m proud of Orlando’s strong fiscal management. For more than a decade, we have maintained the same millage rate and delivered a balanced budget each year, all while meeting the needs of our growing community and the 75 million visitors who experience our city annually,” Dyer said in a statement.
“We continue to listen to our residents and make investments that reflect their priorities. Last year alone, the city invested $406 million in police and fire services, more than we generated in property taxes ($360 million).”
Since being sworn in this Summer, Ingoglia’s mission traveling around the state to announce “excessive wasteful spending” is part of Republicans’ strategy to persuade Florida voters to eliminate property taxes on next year’s ballot. The House recently proposed several plans for property tax relief.
But critics fear such drastic measures could hurt schools, roads or emergency services. Others question why the Legislature isn’t more focused on lowering skyrocketing property insurance costs instead of property taxes.