Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia announces local government budget standardization and accountability legislative proposals

Press release from Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia

WINTER PARK, Fla. – Today, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Blaise Ingoglia announced his legislative proposals to standardize transparency and accountability across local governments.  

Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia said, “As I have traveled the state conducting our FAFO audits, we have taken notes and drafted legislation to address the many deficiencies in transparency we have noticed across local governments and their budget information. The taxpayers deserve to know what their hard-earned money is spent on and the financial standing of their County government. That is why I am proposing legislation to standardize the budget information available to the taxpayers and to ensure that when a local government tries to raise your taxes, the citizens have the information they need to make an informed decision.” 

Representative Yvette Benarroch said, “This legislation is simple. It is about trust and respect for the taxpayers who pay the bills. Too often, local budgets are passed in ways that everyday people cannot follow or even see until it is too late. This bill creates a clear and standard budget process that gives residents the time and transparency they deserve before a budget is approved. I thank CFO Ingoglia for leading these important reforms and for standing up for Florida taxpayers.” 

Representative Monique Miller said, “Local governments have become addicted to spending taxpayer funds, and like any addiction, as long as the supply is unlimited, the behavior will not change. Through the CFO’s audits, we have seen waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars across the state. This legislation will help redirect local governments back to their core mission. I applaud the CFO for his ongoing work to support the taxpayers, and I’m proud to provide the assistance he needs in the legislature.” 

The CFO’s legislative proposals will: 

• Require a local government spending analysis, prepared by the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight (FAFO), to be included on the ballot alongside any proposed tax referendum. 
• Require local governments to publish an online version of their budget on their official website and retain it for 5 years.  
• Force local governments to post the proposed budget on their website at least 14 days before the first public hearing for consideration.  
• Obligate local governments to post a proposed amendment to their budget on their website at least 7 days before a public hearing for consideration.  
• Mandate local governments to identify a 10% reduction in their budget within the proposed budget before adopting. This reduction cannot be from the budgets of essential services such as fire and police.  
• Direct local governments to publish the 10% budget cut reduction on their corresponding websites 14 days before the County votes on the adopted budget.  
• Ban local governments from prioritizing DEI qualifications within government contracts.   

These proposals are in addition to the CFO’s previously announced legislative proposal to codify the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight in Florida Statute and ensure that government employees have the
training and the whistleblower protections needed to report waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer funds. You can find more information on the CFO’s FAFO legislative priority here.