State financial officer, county mayor clash on spending responsibly

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(The Center Square) – A mayor pushed back late Monday on Florida’s chief financial officer saying his county government has “excessive and wasteful” spending.

"When accounting for population growth and inflation, Orange County’s current General Fund Budget is $190 million higher than it should be,” CFO Blaise Ingoglia’s office said in a release. “Ingoglia is calling upon Orange County to cut this waste out of their budget and offer property tax relief to residents now."

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings disputed those claims in a news conference Monday night.

Forty-eight of Florida’s 67 counties had property tax increases that were higher than Orange County’s average increase of 9% over the last five years, the mayor said.

“I am going to point out to you also that this occurred at a time when our population has grown over the last five years by 125,438,” Demings said. “Our budget increases are not purely related to the increase in population, but inflation. Things today cost more than they did four years ago.”

Also, the state has also increased the amount counties must pay for public pensions and benefits, Demings said.

With Disney World and other attractions, Orange County is the top location for tourism in North America, the mayor said. That requires increased public safety staff, he added.

The mayor said Ingoglia is using “fuzzy math” in his criticism of the county’s spending.

“Our general fund increased by $474 million since 2020 and not $559 million as stated by the CFO,” Demings said.

But in a news release, Ingoglia called Orange County bureaucrats fiscally irresponsible.

“It is high time that the taxpayers are armed with the information that they need to hold their locally elected officials accountable,” he said. “The people of Florida are sick and tired of the wasteful spending of tax dollars.”

Jeff Kottkamp, executive vice president and general counsel of the nonprofit group Florida TaxWatch, also called for more fiscal accountability from local governments.

“We are proud to work with CFO Ingoglia and his office to highlight wasteful government spending, which leads to higher taxes for Floridians,” Kottkamp said in a statement.