Dive Brief:
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia released examples of what it considers “wasteful spending” in 10 of the state’s cities and counties. The Oct. 1 press release comes after the state’s Department of Government Efficiency task force sent a data request to 411 municipalities and 67 counties with the purported intent of seeking out government “waste, fraud and abuse.”
- The release calls seven communities’ diversity, equity and inclusion efforts or LGBT-related events “examples of wasteful spending.” Other projects it describes as wasteful are “unconscious bias” training, employee vehicle allowances, a Planned Parenthood event and a tree inventory initiative. The highlighted examples add up to $14.4 million.
- Several of the localities the press release named have pushed back on the narrative, defending their spending or arguing that the numbers do not present a full or clear picture of the spending in question.
Dive Insight:
DeSantis announced in February the formation of a state DOGE, emulating the Trump administration effort led by tech billionaire Elon Musk to uncover “wasteful” spending within the federal government.
Florida’s DOGE would work to “eliminate redundant boards and commissions, review state university and college operations and spending, utilize artificial intelligence to further examine state agencies to uncover hidden waste, and even audit the spending habits of local entities to shine the light on waste and bloat,” DeSantis said in announcing the task force.
Florida’s DOGE has yet to release the full findings of its audit of local governments, but Ingoglia said in the release he has so far uncovered “nearly $1 billion in wasted taxpayer dollars across just FIVE local governments.”
One contract the press release called wasteful is Pensacola paying $150,000 annually to a management company “that brings drag shows to the city’s Seanger Theater.” In a Pensacola News Journal article, the city responded that it had "received no formal inquiries” regarding that spending from DOGE and said the partnership has led to an operational profit of more than $1 million contributed to the city in “the past three years alone.”
Gainesville, Florida, also pushed back against the press release calling its hiring a city director of equity and inclusion with a salary of $189,000 wasteful, with Mayor Harvey Ward saying in a statement to WCJB he is “proud of our team.”
“We continue to provide tremendous value to our neighbors, and to represent their values,” Ward said in a statement listing some of the city’s achievements.
Alachua County likewise defended its financial support of Planned Parenthood’s “Time for Your Teen” event. A county spokesperson told WCJB the program equips "parents and trusted adults to serve as educators for their teens offering support for healthy choices and goal achievement.”
As for the city of Orlando’s “tree inventory,” also called wasteful spending, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer told Spectrum News 13 it is funded by grants and through tree removal permits and mitigation fees paid by developers, all with the intent to monitor, maintain and treat trees for damage and disease.
