Florida's Chief Financial Officer kept the pressure on his campaign to reel in property taxes by calling for more a series of bills to increase oversight of how local governments spend money.
WATCH BELOW: 'We actually moved to Palm Beach because of the property taxes,' homeowner tells WPTV's Matt Sczesny
"In our proposed legislation we want to codify the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight (FAFO) statutes to increase accountability and transparency in local government," he said at news conference in the Tampa area on Wednesday.
The proposals include whistleblower protections, increasing access to local government documents, and requiring cities and counties to file annual efficiency reports.
Ingoglia also explained his eye-popping name for his audits of local governments, called FAFO.
"FAFO is a way to catch people's attention to understand and listen to the numbers, but we are serious about establishing the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight," he said.
So far, he said he has identified $1.8 billion in overspending in 11 cities and counties in the state, including $344 million in Palm Beach County.
"Not that I want to pick on Palm Beach, but I'll pick on Palm Beach," he said.
Palm Beach County officials have disputed the numbers and Ingoglia's formula, which includes inflation and population indexing. This week the Florida League of Cities issued a study on the fallout from eliminating or reducing property taxes.
"Property taxes equal essential services like police, fire and medical," said Charles Chapman, Legislative Advocate for the group. "Cities are not out there saying we're not going to comply, it's simply how can we? Let's have a conversation about it and the study points this out, what does replacement revenue look like."
Matt Sczesny is determined every day to help you find solutions in Florida's coverage collapse. If you have a question or comment on homeowners insurance, you can reach out to him any time.
