Manatee County Commissioners made one shocking decision that sent Ron DeSantis into action mode

Ron DeSantis has put rogue local officials on notice across Florida.

His government efficiency team is hunting down wasteful spending and radical overreach.

And Manatee County Commissioners made one shocking decision that sent Ron DeSantis into action mode.

Radical commissioners openly declare war on DeSantis and Florida law

The Manatee County Commission just threw down the gauntlet against Governor Ron DeSantis – and they’re doing it with full knowledge they could lose their jobs.

These commissioners aren’t just pushing back against state policy.

They’re openly planning to break Florida law and daring DeSantis to remove them from office.

The first salvo comes in the form of two radical ordinances that directly violate state law.

The first proposal would expand wetland buffer zones to double the current requirements set by state agencies and surrounding counties.

The second would shut down development opportunities across vast areas of the county by eliminating a critical development ordinance.

State officials have already ruled both measures exceed local authority under Senate Bill 180 – legislation crafted to accelerate economic rebuilding in hurricane-damaged areas.¹

This law stops local governments from imposing restrictive regulations during crucial recovery periods, and the legal boundaries are unmistakable.

Breaking Senate Bill 180 goes beyond poor governance – it constitutes oath-breaking behavior that gives the governor clear authority for removal.

Commissioners admit they’re knowingly breaking the law

But here’s where it gets really outrageous.

These commissioners aren’t accidentally stumbling into legal trouble – they’re doing this on purpose.

Commissioner George Kruse said it himself back in May: “If we were personally doing something wrong, I bet you 6, 7 or five people are ready to take over our spots when we get removed for knowingly violating the law.”²

This is the same Kruse who has made a career out of opposing everything Governor DeSantis does.

In a bizarre Substack post, Kruse even suggested that vetoed county appropriations could have funded what he called an “internment camp” in the Everglades, dubbing it “Alligator Alcatraz.”²

Rather than backing down when state officials offered to work with them, the board doubled down on their kamikaze mission.

Commissioner Carol Felts went full radical activist mode, urging the commission to “put ourselves on that hill to die” and “stay the course and get ‘er done.”²

Commissioner Bob McCann shrugged off warnings from Tallahassee as “bats***, crazy” and even threatened a development moratorium.²

His attitude toward state officials’ offer to collaborate? “I don’t like the idea that they are saying come to us. We will help you make it better.”²

Translation: No thanks, we’d rather wage war against Republican leadership than work together for solutions.

Florida DOGE moves in to audit the spending

DeSantis wasn’t about to let this radical overreach slide.

The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia, conducted a comprehensive two-day audit of Manatee County’s finances in early August.³

About a dozen DOGE representatives descended on the county to review records and interview staff about line-item expenditures and major spending decisions.

The timing couldn’t be more strategic – DeSantis is sending a clear message that local governments can’t defy state law without consequences.

“They think taxpayers deserve relief and they are going to find ways to do it, so they are looking at anything that might not be a necessary spend,” County Director of Government Relations Stephanie Garrison explained.³

The audit team spent considerable time questioning county staff about spending decisions, asking “what’s that about?” and “why did we spend that?” regarding various expenditures.³

This wasn’t just a routine audit – it was a targeted investigation into a county government that’s been hoarding taxpayer money while defying state authority.

The shocking numbers behind the county’s tax-and-hoard strategy

DOGE’s audit turned up some interesting math in Manatee County.

Property taxes went up 86% over six years. Population? Up 14%.²

The county’s got $734 million sitting in reserves while taxpayers keep getting hit with higher bills.²

Here’s what’s really happening. All this talk about protecting wetlands – that’s cover for protecting the county’s bank account.

New development means the county has to spend money on roads, utilities, and services. Easier to just block everything and keep collecting those tax checks.

Property owners end up paying twice. Higher taxes every year, then they can’t even use their own land.

That’s not how conservatives are supposed to govern. Property rights used to mean something in the Republican Party.

Legal experts explain why the commissioners are doomed

UCF political science expert Aubrey Jewett put it bluntly: local governments are “creatures of the state.”²

Florida law backs DeSantis and the Legislature on this. The state gets the final word on keeping rules consistent across counties.

The commissioners could work with Tallahassee to write compliant ordinances. They could wait until Senate Bill 180 expires in October 2026.

Instead, they want a fight with the governor – risking taxpayer dollars, jobs, and their own seats for political theater.

What this means for property rights and Republican principles

This fight goes way beyond wetlands and building permits.

These commissioners are crushing property rights – something Republicans have defended since the party started.

Here’s the scam: they jack up property taxes, then tell landowners they can’t develop their property because the county doesn’t have infrastructure. But the county’s got $734 million sitting around doing nothing.

So property owners pay twice – higher taxes for infrastructure that never gets built, then get blocked from using their land because that same infrastructure doesn’t exist.

The GOP’s position has always been simple: if you own land and aren’t harming anyone, government shouldn’t stand in your way.

But these commissioners have abandoned Republican principles in favor of environmental extremism that would make AOC proud.

https://twitter.com/GovGoneWild/status/1953511303475343416

They’re using government power to block private property development while sitting on three-quarters of a billion dollars in taxpayer money.

It’s exactly the kind of local government overreach that conservative voters sent DeSantis to Tallahassee to stop.

The August 21 showdown that will determine the future

August 21 is when the Manatee County Commission votes on breaking Florida law – on purpose.

Commissioner Kruse thinks he’s calling DeSantis’s bluff. He’s betting the governor won’t actually remove local officials who defy state authority.

Bad bet.

But they’ve badly miscalculated both the governor’s resolve and the public’s appetite for local government defiance.

DeSantis has built a track record of holding elected officials accountable when they violate their oath of office, and he won’t hesitate to act when commissioners openly admit they’re breaking the law.

The DOGE audit results, expected within 60 days, will provide additional ammunition by exposing exactly how much taxpayer money these commissioners are wasting.³

Florida voters didn’t elect Ron DeSantis to let radical county commissioners thumb their nose at state law and conservative principles.

They elected him to fight government overreach at every level – and that’s exactly what he’s prepared to do.

¹ Brendon Leslie, “Manatee County Commissioners push radical anti-development agenda in open defiance of DeSantis,” New York Post, August 11, 2025.

² Ibid.

³ Jesse Mendoza, “Spending under review: Florida DOGE audits Manatee County,” Sarasota Herald-Tribune, August 2025.