ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – After News 6 posted on Facebook about Florida’s chief financial officer scolding Orange County over what he perceived as “wasteful and excessive spending,” many viewers commented on the story expressing one predominant sentiment: “What about Alligator Alcatraz?”
“I’ll raise ya Alligator Alcatraz on that one!” one man wrote.
Another viewer asked, “Anything more wasteful than Alligator Alcatraz?”
Since he assumed office, CFO Blaise Ingoglia has barnstormed the state to sound the alarm about local governments’ spending.
Following Ingoglia’s latest visit to Orange County, News 6 reached out to his team to relay viewers’ questions as to whether Ingoglia will use his audit powers on spending for Alligator Alcatraz, the immigrant detention facility in the Everglades.
A communications director responded, but rather than answering ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ she sent the following statement:
“In order to receive a federal reimbursement via FEMA, there is an extensive application and financial review process conducted by the federal government. We have full confidence in the Trump Administration’s financial review of Alligator Alcatraz.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved a $608 million federal reimbursement for Alligator Alcatraz, but according to the Florida Phoenix, the state just received its first installment this month. The payment was for $58 million.
The costs associated with Alligator Alcatraz, which is slated to close less than a year after it first opened, have reportedly amounted to nearly $1 billion.