Ron DeSantis targeted Orange County with one DOGE audit that will leave Democrats scrambling to cover their tracks

Democrats thought they could hide their bloated government spending behind closed doors.

Those days just came to a crashing halt in Florida.

And Ron DeSantis targeted Orange County with one DOGE audit that will leave Democrats scrambling to cover their tracks.

DeSantis launches unprecedented audit of Democrat-controlled Orange County

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis isn’t wasting any time implementing his version of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to root out wasteful spending at the local level.

The Governor just dropped a bombshell audit request on Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings that has Democrat officials in full damage control mode.

Orange County became the latest target for DeSantis and newly appointed Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia as they expand their DOGE investigation beyond previous audits of Manatee County, Gainesville, and Fort Lauderdale.

The timing here isn’t coincidental.

DeSantis is systematically building a case that local governments across Florida have spiraled completely out of control with taxpayer dollars – and Orange County’s numbers tell a damning story.

According to the audit letter sent to Mayor Demings, Orange County has increased the tax burden on property owners by a staggering $330 million in additional ad valorem tax collections over the past five years.¹

That represents more than a 50% increase in property tax collections alone.

https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/1950228912656830962

But the spending explosion gets even worse when you dig into the full picture.

Orange County’s total expenditures have ballooned by over $1.6 billion during the same five-year period – a jaw-dropping 57% increase in spending.²

State auditors demand access to everything Democrats want to hide

The DOGE audit letter doesn’t mess around when it comes to what investigators want to examine.

State auditors are demanding access to 50 different categories of county data and information, including procurement records, salary information, property management, utilities, and transportation spending.³

They’re also laser-focused on examining diversity, equity and inclusion programs, “Green New Deal” initiatives, grants, and homeless services spending – all the woke pet projects that Democrats love to fund with other people’s money.

The audit teams plan to conduct on-site inspections at county buildings on August 5th and 6th, giving officials very little time to prepare their defenses.

Here’s what makes this audit particularly threatening to Democrats: investigators are going back to 2019 to examine county data systems, facilities, and staff records.

That’s six years of spending decisions that will be scrutinized under a microscope.

The letter warns that the county could face fines for failing to cooperate with the legally mandated audit.

Orange County tries damage control with weak excuses

Mayor Jerry Demings released a carefully crafted statement trying to justify the massive spending increases by pointing to population growth.⁴

He claims Orange County has grown by approximately 81,000 residents since 2020, which he argues has placed “increasing demands on public services.”

But here’s the problem with that excuse: Orange County managed to increase spending by 57% while only growing its population by a fraction of that percentage.

The math doesn’t add up, and DeSantis knows it.

Demings also pointed to increased calls for service at the Sheriff’s Office and Fire Rescue Department as justification for the spending explosion.

The Sheriff’s Office saw a 7% increase in calls over five years, while Fire Rescue experienced a 15% increase during the same period.

Yet somehow that translated into a 57% increase in total spending across the entire county government.

One Orange County Commissioner called the DOGE audit “political theater,” but dismissed transparency efforts at their own peril.

Democrats can’t hide from their spending addiction anymore

What makes this audit particularly devastating for Democrats is the broader strategy DeSantis is implementing.

The Governor isn’t just targeting Orange County in isolation – he’s building a comprehensive case that local governments across Florida have lost all fiscal discipline.

Critics fear that DeSantis is using these audits to make the case for eliminating property taxes completely, which they argue would drastically cut public services.

But that misses the point entirely.

DeSantis is showing Florida taxpayers exactly where their money is going and why their property tax bills keep climbing year after year.

The audit will also examine whether there’s any connection between wasteful spending and political favoritism.

One area of particular interest involves Glen Gilzean, whom DeSantis appointed as Orange County Elections Supervisor last year.

Gilzean faced allegations of misspending millions on grants not directly related to running elections, plus hundreds of thousands on self-promotion and contracts for friends and DeSantis allies.

His swearing-in ceremony alone cost $16,500, paid for by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association.⁵

Four months later, Gilzean gave that same realtor group a $45,000 grant that they eventually returned when questioned about it.

The smart money says DeSantis will use these DOGE audits to demonstrate that Florida taxpayers deserve better than bloated bureaucracies that treat public funds like their personal slush funds.

Democrats in Orange County and across Florida are about to learn that the era of unchecked spending is coming to an end.

¹ Gabrielle Russon, “Ron DeSantis and Blaise Ingoglia are probing Orange County government in next DOGE audit,” Orlando Sentinel, July 28, 2025.

² Ibid.

³ FOX 35 Digital Staff, “Florida DOGE to audit Orange County, alleging excessive taxation, spending,” FOX 35 Orlando, July 28, 2025.

⁴ Orange County Government Public Information Officer, “Statement from Mayor Demings on Florida DOGE Letter,” July 28, 2025.

⁵ Gabrielle Russon, “Ron DeSantis and Blaise Ingoglia are probing Orange County government in next DOGE audit,” Orlando Sentinel, July 28, 2025.