Orange County government is the next target for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ DOGE investigation into local government spending, the Orlando Sentinel is reporting.
DeSantis and new Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia haven’t made a splashy news conference yet to officially announce the investigation like they did for Manatee County, Gainesville and Fort Lauderdale.
However, the Sentinel reported Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings received a letter last week asking for data and information about 50 items from procurement, salaries, property management, utilities, diversity, equity and inclusion, “Green New Deal,” transportation, grants and homeless services.
“Over the last five years, the taxpayers of Orange County have watched as your county government has increased burdens on property owners to the annual tune of $330 million dollars in additional ad valorem tax collections – an increase of over 50%,” the letter said, warning auditors would be at the county building Aug. 5 and 6, according to to the newspaper. “This has been part of a growth in annual total expenditures of over $1.6 billion over the past five years, which represents a 57% increase in spending.”
With the audits, DeSantis appears to be collecting ammunition claiming local governments’ spending is out of control as he makes a pitch that Floridians should eliminate property taxes completely. Critics said they fear the end of property taxes would drastically cut public services.
Meanwhile the Orlando Sentinel reported that “The Orange County budget has grown over the past five years even without raising its property tax rate. Instead, the county has banked increased tax revenue as land values have spiked, much like elsewhere in Florida. Even with that new revenue, cities and counties across Central Florida are feeling the strain of inflation, higher costs and higher salaries for public safety personnel.”
One Commissioner said she supports transparency but called the DOGE audit political theater.
It’s unclear if DeSantis and Ingoglia will audit an Orange County DeSantis appointee who faced allegations of misspending last year.
Glen Gilzean, who DeSantis tapped last year to fill a partial term last year as Orange County Elections Supervisor, spent millions of dollars on grants that were not directly related to running the elections and hundreds of thousands of dollars on self-promotion and contract for his friends and DeSantis allies. Gilzean’s swearing-in ceremony ran up a $16,500 bill that was paid for by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. Four months later, Gilzean gave the realtor group a $45,000 grant. When asked to provide more information on the grant after Gilzean left office, the realtor group instead returned the $45,000.
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