Day 2 of the state’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) probe in St. Petersburg is underway, and the effort has already gotten testy.
Protesters were at City Hall late Wednesday afternoon raising objections to the process. State employees are combing through thousands of city documents in search of what Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia described as waste, fraud and abuse.
But while protesters expressed frustration, St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch’s administration is taking a more conciliatory tone.
“We had a successful first day with the state DOGE team and I want to thank our City team for their efforts on quickly compiling and preparing this requested data ahead of today’s visit,” Welch said.
“As stated when we first received the request, the City is complying with all DOGE requests and will provide any additional information or clarification as needed. As we continue through this process, our main priority remains inclusive progress for our city, based on our shared values, and moving forward with clarity, purpose and integrity.”
State DOGE workers were set up in the city’s Municipal Services Center Wednesday, where they will continue work Thursday. Teams spent the day reviewing some 18,000 documents the city provided in response to a letter earlier this month outlining specific requests related to spending on diversity, equity and inclusion; environmental sustainability and resiliency; homeless support; mental health; transit; and other programs.
Throughout Wednesday, city staff was made available to answer DOGE team questions, and will be on hand again Thursday.
Speaking during a press conference Wednesday, Ingoglia said he hopes to have a report on the DOGE findings ready within 60 days, though he noted the process will “take as long as we think is necessary” and could take longer depending on how extensive the report is and whether follow-ups are needed with the city.
With protesters at times interrupting with questions, Ingoglia struck a combative tone, telling reporters at City Hall that DOGE employees were instructed to treat the inquiry as if it were a law enforcement investigation.
“They need to view this as if they are a police investigator,” Ingoglia said. “If they see something that looks wrong … then their job is to investigate.”
The entire operation, he said, is to ensure taxpayers are able to receive tax relief, a mission Ingoglia said he was “hell-bent” on achieving.
Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to eliminate property tax entirely, but that would take a successful statewide voter referendum. Making things even more difficult, all referendums in Florida require 60% plus one vote to pass.
So the goals of the DOGE audits appear twofold for the state. In the short term, final reports from the state audits will be used to call for spending cuts, which would facilitate reductions in millage rates, the thinking goes, thereby justifying a property tax cut. But it also shines a light on how local governments are spending taxpayer dollars.
“The only way to get property tax relief is if local governments are good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Ingoglia said.
He said DOGE investigators have been “seeing local governments spend on things they probably shouldn’t be spending on,” which prompted protesters to begin shouting “on what?”
The CFO offered one example — “egregious raises” — but declined to offer more, stating later in his remarks that outlining such details could taint future audits.
“Counties may try to hide information,” he said.
And it was clear Ingoglia wasn’t thrilled with heckling protesters on site, quipping at them that he had “signs made for you that say, ‘I heart wasteful spending’” and then hypothesizing that those there to protest the audit don’t even pay property taxes.
State DOGE critics have argued that eliminating property taxes could lead to a reduction in city services. Ingoglia in his remarks made clear that “property tax cuts don’t mean that we’re getting rid of fire and police.” On the contrary, he said cities and counties “should be prioritizing it.”
Asked to respond to a statement from Democratic Rep. Michele Rayner, in which she said the DOGE audits amounted to political retaliation, Ingoglia was direct.
“It’s political retaliation to tax-and-spend politicians who will not give tax relief,” he said.
Asked why he was targeting St. Pete, Ingoglia said he wasn’t.
“We are targeting everyone. Every government is wasting money.”
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