ST.PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) – Members of Florida’s Division of Governmental Oversight and Efficiency will be in Pinellas County Thursday after the governor and the chief financial officer ordered an audit.

Pinellas is the latest stop for the state’s on-site DOGE investigations.

“I’m going to be in this office for nine years, and I’m telling local governments right now, my audit authority is not going away. I’m going to be a pitbull when it comes to spending and rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse,” Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia said.

According to Ingoglia, on-site teams will review data systems, physical properties, and personnel. He said these are areas where additional attention is likely needed to address spending, taxing, and management practices.

“They cannot tell me that there’s no waste, fraud, and abuse in there — there is. We’ll find it and rest assured, if we don’t find it a first go around, there will be a second and a third go around,” Ingoglia explains.

A letter sent to leaders in Pinellas County reads in part:

Although Pinellas County has taken steps to reduce the county-wide
millage rate in recent years, rising property values have pushed annual property tax
collections up by over $220 million since 2020, according to your published budgets. This increased burden on property owners has helped Pinellas County increase the county’s general fund expenditures by approximately $330 million since 2020 – an increase in spending of 43% during that period.

Democrats inside the statehouse are challenging the investigations.

“What’s the purpose of all this? Just to hold it over the heads and load it over our local governments. That’s not right. I think, instead, the state should be in the business of helping our local government succeed, not to try to entrap them into failing,” State Representative Fentrice Driskell from Tampa said.

Regarding the DOGE audit, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch sent the following statement:

We have received a follow-up letter from the State Division of Governmental Oversight and Efficiency and are reviewing it carefully. The City of St. Petersburg will fully cooperate, providing any additional information or clarification as requested. 

My administration’s Principles for Accountable and Responsible Government continue to guide our work. We will address any questions that may arise from the State’s process and move forward with clarity and accountability in the best interest of the residents of St. Petersburg.

DOGE members are expected on-site in Pinellas County, Thursday. They’re scheduled to start their on-site audit in Hillsborough County the following week.