WINTER PARK, Fla. – Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia held a news conference Thursday in Winter Park to announce a series of legislative proposals aimed at increasing accountability and transparency in local governments across the state.
“To date, we have exposed more than $1.86 billion, and that is billion with a ‘B’ dollars in wasteful, excessive spending in just over in just 11 local governments,” Ingoglia said.
Ingoglia — who was appointed lead the state’s Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight (FAFO) initiative, — outlined several key proposals, including requiring local governments to submit annual financial efficiency reports and mandating that they publish their budgets online for at least five years.
Under Ingoglia’s leadership, FAFO has conducted extensive audits across the state to uncover wasteful spending by local governments, with the aim of proving the need for property tax cuts.
The CFO also proposed codifying his office’s authority to recommend the removal of elected officials found guilty of financial abuse, malfeasance, or misfeasance. Additionally, local governments seeking to raise taxes through referendums would be required to undergo audits by the Department of Financial Services.
Ingoglia also criticized local governments for prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in awarding contracts, arguing that government contracts should be awarded based on price and merit alone.
“We are proposing legislation to end the practice of local governments prioritizing DEI in their government contracts,” he said. “Contracts for government should be doled out on two basic principles: One is price protecting the taxpayer and two is merit."
The proposals also include requiring local governments to identify at least 10% in budget cuts during the budgeting process, excluding essential services like fire and police, to encourage fiscal responsibility.
CFO’s legislative proposal
Ingoglia announced on Wednesday his “legislative priority” to improve local government transparency, calling for lawmakers to do the following:
- Codify the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight (FAFO) in state law as a permanent, long-term initiative
- Require both state and local government employees to complete FAFO training on how to report waste, fraud and abuse
- Require each local government to submit a Financial Efficiency Report annually
- Grant government employees, contractors, subcontractors and taxpayers whisteblower protection if they contact FAFO’s office to report waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars
- Allow the Department of Financial Services to pursue financial penalties from local governments if they don’t respond to inquiries promptly, including withholding state funds
- Obligate local governments to upload all government contracts into the state’s FACTS system or something similar that is searchable and indexed
- Codify the ability of Florida’s CFO to recommend the removal of any elected official who is found to have committed financial abuse, malfeasance or misfeasance
- Require the DFS to audit local governments if they propose to raise taxes via referendum