DeSantis and Ingoglia highlight salary of City of Gainesville’s Director of Equity and Inclusion and Alachua County’s payment to Planned Parenthood at press conference

Press release from the Office of Governor Ron DeSantis

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis joined Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Blaise Ingoglia to highlight examples of wasteful spending in cities and counties across the state. The Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has traveled to 12 jurisdictions across the state to seek out waste, fraud, and abuse and identify opportunities for improvement. Today’s examples are just a few of the DOGE Task Force’s findings from those visits and from data requests sent to all of Florida’s 411 municipalities and 67 counties.

“Florida DOGE teams have been investigating cities and counties where taxpayers have raised concerns about wasteful spending,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “These audits have uncovered many irresponsible uses of taxpayer funds. It’s unconscionable for local governments to raise taxes on Floridians in order to subsidize wasteful spending. Under my leadership, Floridians can continue to expect fiscal responsibility at the state level — and we are working to bring relief to our citizens being squeezed by property taxes at the local level.”

Through reviews of local governments in partnership with CFO Blaise Ingoglia’s office, Florida DOGE discovered:

• The City of Jacksonville paid $75,000 for a “hologram” of Mayor Donna Deegan to greet travelers at Jacksonville International Airport in multiple languages, they paid $7.5 million for a 1-mile sidewalk project which was nearly eight times the average FDOT estimate, and they have given $1.9 million in grants to DEI-focused arts groups.
• The City of Pensacola pays $150,000 a year to a management company that brings drag shows to the city’s Seanger Theater and has paid $300,000 for an equity-focused strategic plan and residential “equity survey.”
• The City of Gainesville pays the City Director of Equity and Inclusion a salary of $189,000 and has prioritized divisive employee indoctrination on the subjects of race and identity over essential activities to serve residents.
• The City of Orlando has spent $460,000 since 2020 to count trees as part of the city’s “tree inventory,” as well as $150,000 over three years to help illegals evade deportation.
• The City of St. Petersburg has paid $258,000, including funds from the city’s utility and EMS funds, to support Pride events and has also spent $307,000 on a climate action plan to promote Green New Deal initiatives.
• Alachua County paid $31,000 to Planned Parenthood for “Teen Time,” designed for children as young as 13 years old.
• Orange County has spent $223,000 for LGBT youth services that promote gender ideology to youth populations and paid $240,000 to a left-wing urban planning firm that carries out its activities from a “race, social, and health equity perspective.”
• Hillsborough County has spent $572,000 to train County employees about their so-called “unconscious bias” and also provides $950,000 for County employee vehicle allowances with very little transparency.
• Pinellas County spends $75,000 every year to sponsor an annual “Pride” festival.
• Broward County has spent $890,000 on DEI training since FY 2020, including training that pushes gender fluidity and transgender ideology; they have also spent $175,000 on creating virtual art in the Metaverse and $44,000 to support a UN treaty promoting gender equity that seeks to compel Americans to accept gender quotas and unequal treatment in service of supposedly equal “outcomes.”

These are just a few of the many examples of wasteful spending Florida DOGE has identified across the state.

“Floridians across the state have made it clear that they will no longer tolerate waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars,” said Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia. “I have traveled the state to expose nearly $1 billion in wasted taxpayer dollars across just FIVE local governments. Local governments are crying poor but continue to spend wastefully on things like ‘counting trees.’ The taxpayers are tired of it, which is why property tax relief is their top concern. I was proud to be here with Governor DeSantis to expose some of the wasteful line items in local government budgets.”

Florida has led the way nationally on fiscal responsibility. Under Governor DeSantis’ tenure, Florida has paid down nearly 50% of the state’s total historic tax-supported debt and has maxed-out the state’s rainy-day fund. Florida also maintains the lowest ratio of state government workers to population among the states, with 96 full-time employees per 10,000 residents. Additionally, the Governor’s signing of the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget marks the second consecutive year of a year-over-year reduction in state spending.

For updates on the Florida DOGE initiative, visit @DOGEfla on X.