PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Efforts to make local governments more efficient are underway in the Tampa Bay area. Florida DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency, was in Pinellas County Thursday.

Pinellas County Commissioners said DOGE was housed inside the fourth-floor conference room of the courthouse. A sign on the front door said meeting in progress. 8 On Your Side was told there were no opportunities for recording their visit.

“There’s just a lot of people in a big conference room looking at spreadsheets and budgets,” said County Commissioner Vince Nowicki.

Nowicki said the county has budgeted for positions it can’t fill, and the government is working efficiently without those positions.

“I’m hoping they come in with some cuts and some reductions in things. That’s what my fingers are crossed for because I see a lot of things that can be trimmed down,” Nowicki said.

Commission Chairman Brian Scott sent a letter to the Florida DOGE team Wednesday. It said, “We share your commitment and have implemented efficiency and cost saving measures.”

The letter mentioned Pinellas County having the lowest level of debt among peer counties and they corrected information they said DOGE had wrong regarding property taxes and general funding expenditures.

“I am so proud that they actually stood up and pushed back,” said State Representative Michele Rayner. “I think that it’s so important to say less and we know what we’re doing. We are making sure we have the best interest of our residence here in mind.”

The representative argues the state should be solving the housing crisis and working to bring down everyday costs.

“Ultimately, it really feels disingenuous. It doesn’t feel like it’s about the people in the community. It feels like it’s about targeting democratic lead cities and counties,” Rayner said.

Nowicki said the letter was just “pointing fingers” and “a lot of double talk.” He said DOGE is what people at the local, state, and federal levels voted for.

“Anytime you have sunshine and scrutiny, that’s good governance. So anybody that says more eyes looking at how taxpayer dollars are spent is a bad thing, I think they’re the problem,” Nowicki said.

It is not clear when the assessment from DOGE will be made public. DOGE is expected to be in other Tampa Bay counties next week.