TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s new Chief Financial Officer, Blaise Ingoglia (R-FL), is putting cities and counties across the state on notice: comply with the DeSantis administration’s new audit initiative—or prepare for subpoenas, forensic investigations, and even criminal charges.
Speaking Thursday in Jacksonville—one of the latest cities under in-person audit—Ingoglia laid out the high stakes of the recently launched Florida DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) initiative, a sweeping effort by Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to uncover inefficiencies and alleged corruption in local government operations.
“We will not tolerate any covering up of any information in order to fulfill our mission,” Ingoglia said.
Ingoglia, a former state lawmaker appointed CFO just weeks ago by Governor DeSantis, has wasted little time asserting his authority. Under DOGE, state investigators are visiting municipalities to analyze spending, operations, and transparency as part of a broader push for potential property tax cuts in 2026.
But the initiative has sparked tension. State officials recently alleged—without naming specific jurisdictions—that some local government employees have been instructed to “delete, alter, or fabricate information” ahead of DOGE site visits.
“Fool around and find out—if you're going to go and you're going to be a local government and you're going to cover things up and try to make it harder for our investigators to find things that they shouldn't be finding… they're going to see the F-O part of that,” Ingoglia warned.
The message was clear, said the CFO, resistance will be met with force. Subpoenas and potential criminal referrals are on the table for those who obstruct the audits.
The CFO’s aggressive stance has drawn sharp criticism from both sides of the aisle. Some local leaders argue the state should examine its own financial practices before scrutinizing others. Jeff Kottkamp, Vice President of the government watchdog group Florida TaxWatch, pointed to the state’s latest budget, which includes over $2 billion in member projects—many of which, he argues, are local pet projects with little statewide benefit.
State
'We have the authority': As state DOGE audits begin, critics see an agenda
“It’s one thing if something's put in the budget that has a statewide impact,” Kottkamp told WPLG earlier in the week. “It's another if it's an entirely local effort, a local project that really doesn't benefit citizens statewide and those are things that we would look at very closely.”
Democrats are also raising red flags about the audits’ political motivations. Rep. Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) expressed concern over Ingoglia’s independence and his vocal support of controversial state-backed projects—such as the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz,” a migrant detention facility in South Florida.
“He should be targeting the state of Florida, who just issued no-bid contracts to build makeshift internment camps down south,” Nixon said.
With all statewide offices up for grabs in the 2026 elections, the DOGE audits are fast becoming a flashpoint in a larger battle over transparency, fiscal responsibility, and political control.
In the meantime, the list of local governments under DOGE scrutiny continues to grow. Cities like Gainesville and St. Petersburg, and counties including Broward, Orange, Miami-Dade, Pinellas, and Hillsborough, have already received in-person audit notices from the CFO’s office.
