‘Duval DOGE’: Council member wants ‘to tighten our belt’ with review of Jacksonville spending

Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee Chair Ron Salem is calling for a “Duval DOGE” to examine municipal expenses and find possible redundancies and savings outside of what he considers the city’s core functions. 

Salem declined to give full details on the Duval DOGE during a March 5 interview and said plans were still being finalized. The council member says he’ll present “two or three ideas” and take recommendations from other members during a meeting at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the Lynwood Robert’s Room at City Hall. 

“DOGE” alludes to the Department of Government Efficiency effort in Washington led by billionaire Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO Elon Musk at the request of President Donald Trump to cut costs and personnel and pare down federal agencies.

Like the federal DOGE, Salem tells Jacksonville Today his proposed Duval DOGE would not be an official department. The review would be conducted within the City Council Auditor’s Office by existing city staff. Salem says his DOGE proposal was triggered by an auditor’s report last year that showed city expenses could outpace projected revenues by fiscal year 2028.  

In 2028, the report projects city revenue to be around $2.038 billion and expenses to be about $2.143 billion, a $105 million shortfall.

“Locally, we are looking at some very difficult years financially over the next two or three years. There are projections where we have an $80 [million] to $100 million hole in our budget. So, I think myself and others were thinking in ways we may assist that process,” Salem said. “I’m in the process with our council auditor and her staff, looking at ways that we can hopefully save some money.”

City spokesman Phil Perry notes the revenue projections in the seven-month-old auditor’s report do not reflect the increase in JEA’s annual contribution to the city’s general fund, which is expected to be up by $13.8 million to $137.4 million next year, or the recent increase to residents’ annual garbage collection fee, scheduled to rise by $233 by 2027.

Perry says Mayor Donna Deegan’s administration will not have final revenue estimates for the 2025-26 budget year until later this spring, when local officials get the latest revenue projections from the state.

Perry says Deegan will present a balanced budget to council. Council will review and have a chance to amend the mayor’s budget in August.

Regardless of what Salem proposes, City Council Auditor Kim Taylor tells Jacksonville Today that the DOGE program will not be considered an audit of the city’s finances.

‘Stay tuned for Tuesday’

Salem says a Duval DOGE effort should focus on city expenses that do not involve law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services, garbage collection or infrastructure.

“I personally think what we need to do on a local level is tighten our belts and look at, particularly, expenses not related to our core functions very closely,” Salem said.

“We’ll be looking at a wide variety of expenses and potential duplications within the government, and I would just tell you to stay tuned for Tuesday,” Salem said. 

The city budget touches a broad array of programs across Duval County outside of the areas highlighted by Salem. The city provides funding for health care, affordable housing, public art and nonprofits, just to name a few. And it pays out millions in financial incentives — including grants and forgivable loans — for private business expansions, relocations and development projects.

According to Salem, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the city’s biggest annual expenditure with a budget of $633.23 million in FY2024-25, and fire services could be exempt from the DOGE process.

“I think there may be a movement to exclude police and fire from this process, but I want to get the input from my colleagues on areas such as that,” Salem said.

Mayor weighs in

In the March 4 post to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) by Salem to announce his Duval DOGE proposal, Salem accused Deegan of “ongoing financial mismanagement,” referring to alleged misuse of city procurement cards during her October 2024 International Investment Summit trip to London. A council auditor’s review determined Deegan did not misspend any public funds. 

In response to reporters’ questions about Salem’s proposed DOGE on March 5, Deegan said her administration is already working to tighten the city’s belt, citing efforts to cut wait times in the city’s permitting process, train city employees in efficiency through the Lean Initiative Green Belt certification program, and budget scenario planning.  

“We’ve asked our city employees, all of our departments to go through an exercise where we’ve asked them to say, ‘Hey, we’re not saying that there are going to be cuts, but if you had to cut 10% from your budget, what would that look like for you?’” Deegan said. “We are continuing to do that process in the executive side of the building. If Council wants to also take a look at that, that is absolutely their prerogative. I’m always willing to work to make government more efficient.”

The mayor also noted that more efficient in city government doesn’t always mean cuts, and she called into question the Salem’s stated purpose for the Duval DOGE.

“I’m happy, after five years on the council, the councilman has determined that this is an important issue to him. You have to sort of wonder whether the timing is more political or practical. But that is for you all to determine,” Deegan said. “I’m just going to continue to do the things that I have done to make government as efficient as possible, and at the same time, make sure that it doesn’t affect the quality of life for our citizens.”

Local DOGEs and property taxes

If council takes up Salem’s proposal, the city would join Florida and several other Republican-controlled states in exploring their own versions of Musk’s federal initiative.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is calling for a Florida DOGE task force to find cuts and efficiencies in state government, universities and local governments.

“I want to get as bold of relief for taxpayers as possible,” DeSantis said March 4. 

He told reporters after his State of the State address that local DOGE efforts are necessary, and the Legislature is considering a study on eliminating local property taxes — a move the governor has been calling for in recent weeks.

In Florida, property taxes are administered by municipal governments and supervised by the Florida Department of Revenue. Eliminating those taxes would have huge financial implications for local governments like the city of Jacksonville and Duval Schools, which rely on property taxes for big chunks of their revenue.

About $1.142 billion, or 42.39%, of the city’s revenue in its FY2024-25 budget came from ad valorem taxes, according to the Deegan Administration’s budget transparency dashboard.

Salem said, as of March 5, he’s not been contacted by the DeSantis administration about the Duval DOGE but would welcome state involvement if both efforts proceed at the same time.

To eliminate property taxes, the Legislature would have to bring the idea to Florida voters as a ballot referendum and receive approval from at least 60% of the electorate. That likely wouldn’t come before voters until the 2026 election.