City of Orlando to be audited by Florida DOGE starting Monday: What we know

ORLANDO, Fla. - The City of Orlando is next on the list of local municipalities being audited by Florida DOGE after direction from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The audit is set to begin on Monday, Aug. 11. 

Florida DOGE to audit City of Orlando 

What we know:

The City of Orlando is one of the many municipalities in Florida being audited by Florida DOGE. 

The Florida DOGE team and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Blaise Ingoglia sent a letter to the city on July 30 to warn them of their intent to visit Orlando for the audit. 

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The letter states that the DOGE team will complete their audit on Monday, Aug. 11, and Tuesday, Aug. 12. 

See the letter below:

What they're saying:

Although Ingolgia says Orlando has kept its millage rates constant in recent years, he also says that rising property values have pushed budgeted annual property tax collections up by over $120 million between 2020 and 2025 – a 55% increase. 

"This growing burden on property owners significantly outpaces inflation and the growth in population reported in your budget over that time period," he said in the letter. "Having entrusted their governments with the power to tax, the citizens of Florida have a right to expect that their elected officials will spend the collected funds responsibly and on truly necessary programs."

Mayor Buddy Dyer said the city will cooperate and show how it operates in an "efficient and financially responsible manner."

What we don't know:

State officials have not yet detailed how jurisdictions were selected. It’s also unclear what penalties, if any, municipalities may face if excessive spending is found. No preliminary audit findings have been released.

What's next:

Following the completion of the audit, the DOGE teams will take their findings back to Tallahassee to meet with auditors. 

Ingoglia said a report of DOGE's findings will be released within 60 days of the completed audit. 

Orange County being audited by DOGE 

Local perspective:

Orange County is yet another Central Florida municipality being audited by Florida DOGE.

The audit for the county started Tuesday, and Ingoglia hosted a news conference ahead of the audit in Orlando.

"Over the last five years, the taxpayers of Orange County have watched as your county government has increased burdens on property owners to the annual tune of $330 million dollars in additional ad valorem tax collections – an increase of over 50%," Ingoglia said in a letter to the county. "This has been part of a growth in annual total expenditures of over $1.6 billion over the past five years, which represents a 57% increase in spending."

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the county will comply fully with the audit.

Big picture view:

Last month, DeSantis announced on-site audits of city and county governments starting July 31, targeting areas with complaints from taxpayers of wasteful spending. DeSantis is using teams from the Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to "ensure transparency and accountability in government."

DeSantis said the teams will closely analyze local government spending, with team members from the Department of Financial Services, Department of Revenue, Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce and Department of Education. He said the audits will examine county data systems, facilities, and staff records dating back to 2019.

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DeSantis emphasized the audits are now required by law and local governments must cooperate.

Broward County and the City of Gainesville were the first two Florida municipalities targeted, and others followed, including the City of St. Petersburg, Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Orange County, Jacksonville and Manatee County.