SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A week after he was the lone “no” vote on the Florida government’s $83 million purchase of a 4-acre patch of sand belonging to a campaign donor critics deemed wasteful, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia again turned his focus to local officials.
“I made a statement that if any local government raised property taxes this year when families are hurting and trying to make ends meet, they would get a knock on their door by me and my office,” Ingoglia declared. “Well, knock knock, Seminole County.”
In a well-publicized fight, Seminole County raised its property tax rates for the first time in 16 years after leaders decided there was no way to pay for increased costs to law enforcement and the 911 system after slashing through different departments’ proposed budgets.
The increase, plus an increase to the county’s gas tax, will amount to an estimated $200 per year for the average two-adult household. That does not include the annual increase in property taxes brought on because of rising home values.
Ingoglia said his office performed a high-level analysis of Seminole County’s budgets and calculated the county should be spending $48 million less than it currently does, based on the county’s 2020 budget (set before the pandemic started), inflation, and increases to law enforcement.
He said the county should have voted for a tax cut instead of an increase.
“If you had a [$400,000] taxable value on a home in Seminole County with our proposed cuts to property taxes, they would save $324 a year,” he said, holding up a sign and berating officials for making housing more unaffordable.
However, Ingoglia deflected when pressed for specifics or details about his office’s math and said there was no planned audit of the Republican-led county because the governor’s office hadn’t pushed for one.
An analysis of Seminole County’s budgets over the years found much of the increased spending in the county came from additional staff hires that were in line with the county’s growth.
Ingoglia, however, said the county should automate more of its work so it can reduce staffing levels and compare its pay scales to private businesses.
“If local governments say that we’ve held the millage rate the same as property values rise, millage rates should fall to keep the level of government to the same,” he said.
Seminole County administrators pushed back on the assertions their spending was wasteful.
“Our residents benefit from award-winning parks and libraries, exceptional public safety, and well-maintained infrastructure that reflects decades of responsible investment and planning,” a spokeswoman wrote.
County leaders suggested Ingoglia didn’t include several factors when calculating “waste,” including so-called unfunded mandates: new laws that come from Tallahassee without any additional funding.
Examples of such mandates included funding the Sunrail system at a cost of $12 million, re-painting crosswalks to black at $500,000, and requirements for the jail that cost the county $120 million.
Additionally, staff said they are being forced to convert septic systems to sewer connections, which will cost the county half a billion dollars by 2037.
“The Board’s decision to approve a millage increase for FY 2025–26 was not made lightly,” the spokeswoman wrote. “Seminole County remains committed to fiscal discipline, transparency, and delivering exceptional value to our taxpayers. Our focus is, and always will be, protecting the quality of life that makes Seminole County one of the most desirable places to live in Florida.”
Gov. DeSantis is pushing lawmakers to eliminate the state’s property tax, at least for homesteaded properties, declaring it unfair to seniors and young families who are struggling with inflation.
The state’s intrusions into local governments’ budgets come as his administration seeks to find arguments to convince voters to pass reform at the ballot box in November in 2026 over what’s expected to be heavy opposition and arguments from local governments which require that funding for essential services.
Ingoglia made direct references to that forthcoming referendum in his speech on Tuesday.
“People in a private sector have to prioritize their lives with the amount of money that they have,” he said. “It’s time that government does the same.”
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