TALHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) – State Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts have not stagnated in August.
Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and state Doge are inspecting spending at the local level. But with high praise, it often stirs criticism.
8 Your side sat down with the Florida Tax Law Watch Watch Taxpayer Watchdog group, best known for breaking down state budgets each year, to help taxpayers understand how lawmakers spend their money.
With the latest Doge efforts, the monitoring group shares the pros and cons of these recent tests.
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“The idea of making government more effective and efficient is an apple pie as an American. That’s something that needs to be done,” said Dominique Calabro of Florida.
Calabro says combs through government spending have been the group’s mission for the past 46 years.
“It’s just music to the ears of Florida tax watches. This is what we live in. This is what our core mission is for. Frankly, Florida tax watches were Doge before Doge was Doge,” says Calabro.
Calabro adds that these operations could indeed bring more trust to local citizens, unless the administration crosses boundaries.
But on the contrary, critics continue to oppose Doge. This week, city leaders and protesters gathered in St. Pete, with new CFOs heading to the Tampa Bay Area.
“I’ll push back the claim that there’s waste in those taxes,” said St. Pete Councilman Brandi Gabbard.
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Ingoglia and Desantis continue to emphasize the importance of reducing waste and fraud in order to refocus local dollars to lower property taxes.
“There’s the key here, I think that’s something everyone needs to understand. Local governments should lead local governments to reduce property taxes by not increasing people’s mileage, but by increasing people’s taxes and adding additional fees.
Florida’s tax affairs look at both sides, but cities and counties don’t think this is an outsider coming in. They should consider it a welcome mat.
“We love seeing this effort. We hope it is seen as a hostile tool. We hope it is not hostile and, in time, we are immersed in the culture as long as we show some progress and promise.
