ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida’s chief financial officer and Orange County leadership are clashing again.
CFO Blaise Ingoglia was in Orlando Monday, doubling down on his accusations of reckless spending tied to DEI grants and other county programs.
“You’re not going to go and spend our state tax dollars unwisely. If they try to raise taxes, they need to be called out. We’ve seen local governments overspend, cry poor, and then ask for more,” Ingoglia said.
His audit teams have been combing through Orange County’s finances for weeks, zeroing in on six DEI grants and other expenditures.
“Now the sad state of affairs is local government budgets in Florida. Now I am not. I’m holding everyone accountable here because a lot of these budgets are Republican and Democrat alike. But a lot of these budgets, almost all of them, have increased in between 60 to 120% over the past four or five years,” he said.
At Monday’s press conference, Ingoglia said his team has identified $200 million in wasteful spending.
“That’s outrageous, especially when the county’s population has only grown by 80,000 over the last five years. The math doesn’t add up,” he said.
Despite the bold claim, Ingoglia has yet to release specifics. He says details will come once the audit is complete.
Mayor Jerry Demings has previously defended the county’s spending and says his administration has cooperated fully with the audit.
“They’re sick and tired of the state of Florida not taking care of its residents. The state has done nothing to address the high cost of property insurance. They have done nothing to address the high cost of housing,” Demings said.
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