Blaise Ingoglia, Florida's chief financial officer and a former state senator. | Colin Hackley, News Service of Florida
Published on July 31, 2025 at 3:26 pm
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The DeSantis administration is adding Jacksonville to a list of cities and counties that the Florida DOGE committee will audit in person.
State officials sent a letter this week to the administration of Mayor Donna Deegan stating that the Florida DOGE has identified Jacksonville for further review and an on-site visit.
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The letter was dated Monday and signed by Eric Soskin, DOGE team lead and senior adviser to Gov. Ron DeSantis, state Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, and the governor’s Office of Policy and Budget director, Leda Kelly. It requests access Aug. 7 and 8 to the “city’s physical premise, data systems and responsible personnel.”
“Although Jacksonville has taken steps in recent years to reduce millage rates on residents, rising property values have pushed annual property tax collections up by over $400 million since 2020 — a 57% increase,” the letter says. “This growing burden on property owners far outpaces inflation and the modest growth in population over that time.”
Officials in Broward and Orange counties and the city of Gainesville — all areas that lean Democratic — have received similar letters from DeSantis’ DOGE entity.
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In a prepared statement Thursday, the mayor’s office repeated what it told Jacksonville Today in May: that administration officials have been cooperating with Florida DOGE team since receiving two letters in March and April that requested documents and responses to city finance questions.
“They will find that our city finances have been managed responsibly and prudently, which is how we’ve held the number of non-public safety employees flat despite having one of the fastest-growing populations in the country and the lowest millage rate by far of any major Florida city,” the statement says. “It’s also why the three major ratings agencies have issued a top tier AA+ or AA rating for the second year in a row.
“We welcome any financial evaluation not driven by partisanship or political gamesmanship.”
Deegan, a Democrat, has made her administration’s government efficiency programs a recurring theme of her public addresses and her most recent budget speech.
In its statement Thursday, the mayor’s office touted cutting business permitting time in half and saving 284,000 staff hours through its 904LEAN initiatives.
Florida DOGE’s letter includes a long list of specific requests for city documents and policies related to procurement and contracting; employee compensation; city-owned properties; utility rates and costs; “Green New Deal” climate change, emission and carbon reduction targets; grants; and other spending.
State officials are asking for financing and economic analysis information on five specific projects currently under planning or construction using city funds:
- The EverBank Stadium renovation.
- Four Seasons Hotel and Shipyards projects.
- Museum of Science & History.
- University of North Florida’s Flight Deck eSports Arena.
- The University of Florida Jacksonville graduate campus.
Funding for all of these projects has received near unanimous support from City Council either individually or in city budgets.
The move to send Florida DOGE into Jacksonville comes about 2½ months after the Republican-led City Council voted mostly along party lines on a resolution requesting the state office do an onsite audit.
DeSantis announced the creation of the state-level DOGE in February. It takes its cues from the controversial Department of Government Efficiency effort commissioned by President Donald Trump and run at one time by billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico recently said he will renew the council’s local DOGE Committee for another year. Since February, the committee chaired by Republican Ron Salem has focused efforts on about $20 million in unspent funds appropriated to capital projects — some dating back as far as 1999.
Deegan administration officials worked with Salem’s committee to close out projects that were either completed or dormant to return the money to a special DOGE contingency account.
Florida DOGE’s letter asks for communication with the council’s local DOGE. Salem told Jacksonville Today that he’s working with City Council auditors to prepare a summary of his committee’s work and future plans to provide to state DOGE personnel by Friday in advance of the on-site audit.
State officials will be in Jacksonville on the first two days the council’s Finance Committee hearings on Deegan’s proposed $2 billion 2025-26 fiscal year budget.
“It’s not clear to me how we will interact with them while they’re here,” Salem said. “I’m hopeful we’ll here more as we go into next week.”
