Blaise Ingoglia torched wasteful spending in one brutal way that left corrupt bureaucrats running for cover

Big government bureaucrats thought they could hide their reckless spending behind closed doors.

But Florida’s new Chief Financial Officer has other plans.

And Blaise Ingoglia torched wasteful spending in one brutal way that left corrupt bureaucrats running for cover.

Florida’s DOGE operation takes no prisoners

Governor Ron DeSantis and newly sworn-in Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia just put local governments on notice – accountability is coming whether they like it or not.

The pair launched a full-scale audit assault targeting two of Florida’s most notoriously bloated municipalities.

Gainesville and Broward County officials are about to get a very rude awakening about what happens when you waste taxpayer dollars.

Ingoglia didn’t waste a single minute after taking his oath on Monday.

He immediately fired off stern seven-page letters demanding complete financial transparency from both localities. “WE’RE NOT WASTING ANY TIME!” Ingoglia said. “I promised taxpayers I would audit local governments and protect their tax dollars.”¹

The letters read like warrants for financial crimes – because that’s essentially what they are. State officials are demanding access to physical premises, data systems, and every single person involved in these spending sprees. The deadline? July 31st and August 1st. No excuses, no delays.

And here’s the kicker – if these local governments try to stonewall or drag their feet, “financial penalties may accrue for [their] failure to comply with each of the following requests for access on those dates.”² Translation: comply or pay the consequences.

The numbers don’t lie about government excess

When you dig into the actual spending data, the picture gets downright infuriating for taxpayers who’ve been footing these bills.

Gainesville managed to increase their property tax collections by over 80% while expanding their annual budget by nearly $90 million over just four years.² Let that sink in. Four years.

https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1947646458720591909

But Broward County takes the prize for pure fiscal insanity. They jacked up property tax collections by $450 million and exploded their annual operating budget by a staggering $1.2 billion over five years.² During that same period, their population grew by less than 5%.

You read that right – population growth under 5%, budget growth in the billions. That’s not serving constituents, that’s feeding a bureaucratic beast.

Governor DeSantis charged his Florida DOGE team specifically “to identify and report on this type of excessive spending at the city and municipal level.”² These aren’t random audits – they’re surgical strikes on the worst offenders.

What this means for the future

This represents a seismic shift in how state governments can hold local bureaucrats accountable for their spending binges.

Florida’s DOGE operation isn’t just looking at numbers on spreadsheets. They’re demanding detailed information on “requesting financial information on compensation, contracts, DEI, etc.”¹ That’s bureaucrat-speak for going after every single way these localities have been wasting money on woke nonsense and administrative bloat.

The timing tells you everything about Ingoglia’s priorities. Day one on the job, and he’s already going after the biggest spenders. No honeymoon period, no getting comfortable – just immediate action to protect taxpayers.

This approach could become the template for fiscal conservatives across the country.

Other states are watching Florida’s playbook closely, especially as federal DOGE operations begin exposing waste in Washington, D.C.

The message from Tallahassee is crystal clear: the days of unchecked local spending are over.

Bureaucrats who thought they could hide behind municipal boundaries and friendly local media just discovered they’ve got a much bigger problem than they bargained for.

“Accountability is coming,” he said.¹ And based on these initial moves, that’s not a promise – it’s a guarantee.

¹ Michelle Vecerina, “Florida launches ‘DOGE’ spending audits of Gainesville, Broward County governments,” Florida Phoenix, July 22, 2025.

² Ibid.