PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Palm Beach County's administrator is questioning the claim from Florida's chief financial officer that the county is overspending by $344 million.
"It's not transparent. We don't know what the number is, how they arrived to it," County Administrator Joseph Abruzzo said.
WATCH BELOW: $344M overspending claim 'not transparent,' county administrator says
On Dec. 4, Ingoglia held a West Palm Beach news conference stating the county figures are the highest overspending his Florida Agency on Fiscal Oversight has uncovered.
"All I'm going to tell you guys is I'm watching, I am watching you guys," Ingoglia said during his visit. "I'm going to tell you these numbers are absolutely solid."
But Abruzzo said Tuesday he questions Ingolia's math, especially in applying consumer inflation numbers to come up with the overspending figure.
"He gave a speech based on personal opinion, without any sunshine to it or any transparency," Abruzzo said.
"He's the CFO, he should come here and meet with us and let us discuss this together," County Commissioner Maria Sachs said.
Ingoglia has made visits across the state examining city and county budgets in an effort to lower and possibly even eliminate property taxes.
"This could be catastrophic for everybody, not just the county," County Commissioner Joel Flores said. "We're talking about local municipalities that will no longer exist."
Abruzzo said since he became the county's administrator this past summer, he has had an excellent working relationship with the state on property taxes. However, the CFO report has him looking for details.
"I did furnish a public records request with the CFO to figure out how he came to this number," Abruzzo said. "Where did this out-of-whack number come from, and then we will address it."
