By Elizabeth Johanson

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On Wednesday, Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia made a stop in Hillsborough County, alleging that the local government has engaged in nearly $279 million of excessive spending; his comments coming amidst a broader campaign against what he sees as financial inefficiency and expansion of bureaucracy at the municipal level, according to a report by WFLA.

Ingoglia, targeting Hillsborough County’s spending habits asserted that the area had outdone Jacksonville and Orange County in fiscal excesses, as stated during his visit to Brandon, citing figures to argue that despite adjustments for inflation and population growth, which saw an increase of 123,823 since 2019, and raises for law enforcement and firefighters, the budget swelled by $860,000, or 56.6%, a growth that, in his words, “does not add up,” reported by Tampa Bay Times; he went on to criticize the hiring of an additional 645 people into local government positions, which he equated to a budget increase of $6,944 per new resident.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Harry Cohen responded to the CFO’s assertions, expressing difficulty in providing a counterargument due to the lack of specifics, and highlighted the county’s positive credit rating and responsible investments in infrastructure, resilience, transportation, and public safety, as Cohen detailed in a phone call documented by Tampa Bay Times.

In his inflammatory remarks, Igoglia announced intentions for a special 2026 referendum aimed at reining in municipal taxation, this initiative arising from his leadership of the Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the agency responsible for identifying wasteful government expenditures and which Ingoglia will be using as a platform for his reelection bid as he stands on that same ballot; such sentiments underscored in his condemnation of the three municipalities’ total “wasteful spending” of $667.44 million and his belief that relief for taxpayers could only be achieved through voting, exemplified in a statement captured by Florida Politics.

Pushback against Ingoglia’s tour and particularly his critique of Hillsborough County’s financial management has surfaced from several corners, with officials like Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan dismissing the CFO’s analysis as unfounded, with Deegan noting the absence of concrete suggestions or recognition of Jacksonville’s consolidated government structure, their ripostes detailing the perceived deficiencies in Ingoglia’s approach, according to Florida Politics.