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Tag: florida cfo

  • Nikki Fried slams CFO’s proposal to allow removal of locally elected officials

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    Credit: Blaise Ingoglia @GovGoneWild/X

    Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried is blasting proposed legislation introduced this week by Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Blaise Ingoglia aimed at increasing local government spending transparency — specifically, a provision that would allow removal of local officials found to have committed “financial abuse.”

    The legislation, scheduled to be filed ahead of the coming legislative session in the Florida House by Rep. Monique Miller, R-Palm Bay, and in the Senate by Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach, would increase local government transparency and formally establish Ingoglia’s Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight (FAFO) effort into statute.

    The proposal includes a provision that would codify the state’s CFO’s ability to recommend removal of any elected official who is found to have committed “financial abuse, malfeasance or misfeasance.”

    “I have heard zero from our new CFO about what he plans on doing to hold our property insurance companies accountable,” Fried said on a Zoom conference call on Thursday. “Instead, he’s bullying our local governments, creating fictitious formulas, and now he wants to overreach even more by putting a clause in there about removing elected local officials.”

    More than any recent governor, Ron DeSantis has aggressively exercised the power within his office to remove elected officials from office, including school board members, sheriffs, and most controversially, two Democratic state prosecutors, Andrew Warren in Hillsborough County and Monique Worrell in Orange and Osceola counties.

    Worrell rebounded from her 2023 suspension, winning re-election by a large margin in 2024.

    “We see how Ron DeSantis has abused that power throughout his eight years in this administration, and so that is just them bullying our local governments that are the ones who are closest to the people,” Fried added.

    In addition to those above listed suspensions, Attorney General James Uthmeier threatened other local governments officials in Florida earlier this year in Orange County and Key West when they raised objections to signing 287(g) agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    In the case of Orange County, Mayor Jerry Demings said in August that he signed an updated agreement with ICE under “protest and extreme duress” after Uthmeier threatened the mayor and all six county commissioners that their failure to do so would result in their removal from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

    Other provisions in the legislation introduced by Ingoglia at a press conference in Tampa on Wednesday include allowing the Department of Financial Services to pursue financial penalties from local governments if they don’t respond to inquiries “promptly,” including by withholding any state funds until they do so.

    “If we ask for the information on a Monday, and we’re giving you five days to compile the information — get it in five days; if you don’t, then you face a $1,000 a day penalty,” he said at the press conference.

    The legislation comes as Ingoglia continues to make the case that local governments have been engaged in “excessive and wasteful spending” by comparing their fiscal year 2024-2025 budgets with what they were spending in 2019-2020. So far, after reviewing the budgets of 11 local governments this year, he says they have engaged collectively in $1.86 billion in alleged wasteful and excessive spending.

    Local government officials who have received those FAFO audits have questioned the accuracy of the methodology used by the CFO’s auditors. Ingoglia has called such criticisms “bogus” and “not well thought out.”

    Fried argued that if Ingoglia were serious about cutting excessive government spending, he should look inside the DeSantis administration’s own spending excesses. She referred to a Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald story published last week reporting that the DeSantis administration spent $36.2 million in taxpayer funds last year to purchase ads against the proposed marijuana and abortion ballot measures, both of which were contested by the governor.

    “If [Ingoglia] wants to talk about saving dollars and making sure that the people are getting a return to the taxes they have put into this state, he should be focused on what’s happening in Tallahassee,” she said. “Ron DeSantis stole $38 million from the people of this state, and so that’s really where the attacks should be. That’s where his energy should be.”

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    Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
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  • Florida CFO announces legislative proposal to oversee local government spending

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    Florida CFO announces legislative proposal to oversee local government spending

    Updated: 11:30 AM EST Dec 18, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Blaise Ingoglia, announced a new legislative proposal on Thursday to make local government more accountable and transparent. According to Ingoglia, 11 local governments are projected to have spent $1.6 billion wastefully over the last year. Some of these include $190 million in Orange County, $112 million in Manatee County, $301 million in Miami, $344 million in Palm Beach County and $22 million in Orlando.Ingoglia said local governments are doing this to make excuses to raise property taxes. To protect taxpayers from excessive local government spending, Ingoglia proposed to formally establish the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight (FAFO) in state law.The CFO’s legislative proposal: Codifies the “Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight” in Florida statute to increase accountability and transparency in local government and make this effort a long-term, permanent initiative. Requires both state and local government employees to complete FAFO training on how to report waste, fraud, and abuse. Requires each local government to submit an annual Financial Efficiency Report. Grants government employees, contractors, subcontractors, and taxpayers whistleblower protection if they contact DFS to report waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars. Allows DFS to pursue financial penalties from local governments if they don’t respond to inquiries promptly, including by withholding any state funds until they do. Obligates local governments to upload all government contracts into the state’s FACTS system or something similar that is searchable and indexed. Codifies the ability of Florida’s CFO to recommend the removal of any elected official who is found to have committed financial abuse, malfeasance or misfeasance. Requires DFS to audit local governments if they propose to raise taxes via referendum.”My legislative proposal will codify much-needed reforms that will positively impact future generations. Government grows when people stop watching, and bureaucrats stop caring. Through my proposal, we will ensure that someone is always watching how your hard-earned tax dollars are spent,” Ingoglia said in a new press release.

    WINTER PARK, Fla. —

    Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Blaise Ingoglia, announced a new legislative proposal on Thursday to make local government more accountable and transparent.

    According to Ingoglia, 11 local governments are projected to have spent $1.6 billion wastefully over the last year.

    Some of these include $190 million in Orange County, $112 million in Manatee County, $301 million in Miami, $344 million in Palm Beach County and $22 million in Orlando.

    Ingoglia said local governments are doing this to make excuses to raise property taxes.

    To protect taxpayers from excessive local government spending, Ingoglia proposed to formally establish the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight (FAFO) in state law.

    The CFO’s legislative proposal:

    • Codifies the “Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight” in Florida statute to increase accountability and transparency in local government and make this effort a long-term, permanent initiative.
    • Requires both state and local government employees to complete FAFO training on how to report waste, fraud, and abuse.
    • Requires each local government to submit an annual Financial Efficiency Report.
    • Grants government employees, contractors, subcontractors, and taxpayers whistleblower protection if they contact DFS to report waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.
    • Allows DFS to pursue financial penalties from local governments if they don’t respond to inquiries promptly, including by withholding any state funds until they do.
    • Obligates local governments to upload all government contracts into the state’s FACTS system or something similar that is searchable and indexed.
    • Codifies the ability of Florida’s CFO to recommend the removal of any elected official who is found to have committed financial abuse, malfeasance or misfeasance.
    • Requires DFS to audit local governments if they propose to raise taxes via referendum.

    “My legislative proposal will codify much-needed reforms that will positively impact future generations. Government grows when people stop watching, and bureaucrats stop caring. Through my proposal, we will ensure that someone is always watching how your hard-earned tax dollars are spent,” Ingoglia said in a new press release.

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  • Calling himself ‘unapologetically conservative,’ Blaise Ingoglia kicks off CFO campaign – Orlando Weekly

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    Credit: via GovGoneWild/X

    Blaise Ingoglia, appointed to serve as Florida’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in July, held a campaign event in Tampa on Monday night to kickoff his candidacy for 2026.

    “My name is Blaise Ingoglia and I’m your current CFO from the great state of Florida and I am unapologetically conservative,” he said to several hundred people who crowded into the second floor of the Tampa Firefighters Museum.

    Ingoglia, a homebuilder from Hernando County, was serving in the Florida Senate when Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to succeed Jimmy Patronis as CFO on July 21. He announced that he was running for a four-year term on Sept. 2, but that was a via a video release and written statement. On Monday night, his campaign opted for a splashy event, replete with food, alcohol, and a steady stream of ’70s and ’80s pop tunes playing to the attendees in advance of his speech.

    Ingolgia declined to take questions from reporters following the event.

    The chief financial officer of Florida is one of three Cabinet-level positions in state government, along with the attorney general and agriculture commissioner, and goes up for election every four years. Together, they help the governor administer a number of state agencies. The CFO is the statutory head of the Department of Financial Services, which oversees more than a dozen agencies, including the State Fire Marshal, Consumer Services, and Inspector General. The position pays $140,000 a year.

    The fight to reduce property taxes

    Ingoglia has been in the news headlines constantly since his appointment by DeSantis earlier this summer. The two Republicans have been on an unofficial campaign to boost a still-to-be written constitutional amendment next year that will ask voters whether they want to substantially reduce their property taxes.

    Ingoglia has utilized two new state government agencies in that effort: DOGE (“Department of Governmental Efficiency”) and FAFO (the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight) to scrutinize spending by local governments throughout the state. That’s been controversial, as Ingoglia has accused several local governments — many (but not all) controlled by Democrats — of excessive and “wasteful” spending.

    That strategy was called out in an editorial in the Orlando Sentinel over the weekend.

    “The motives are painfully obvious: State leaders are trying to amass proof that local governments are routinely overspending on ridiculous priorities,” says the editorial. “The next step, obviously, is to take away their ability to set property tax rates. That’s been the obvious destination from the start, and it is a straight path to disaster for Florida’s communities.”

    Ingoglia said Monday that he has three big priorities: 1) Property tax relief, 2) Holding local governments accountable, and 3) Pushing down property insurance rates.

    He said he “cut his teeth” two decades ago claiming that local governments had “gone wild” in their spending and it is funny that “what we are seeing right now is seeing government gone wild and run amok with a lot of our property tax dollars.”

    Property Insurance

    Another responsibility for the CFO is overseeing insurance regulation.

    “We need to hold the insurance companies accountable to do what they say that they are going to do, what they are contractually obligated to pay, because if they don’t they’re going to get fined,” he said, drawing cheers. “I am not here to protect the profits of insurance companies. I am not here to protect the profits of trial attorneys. What I am here to do is protect you, the policyholders, and I will continue do that.”

    Democrats question whether Ingoglia will do that.

    “Floridians deserve a CFO who will stand up to the insurance companies and help make property insurance more affordable,” Democratic House Leader Fentrice Driskell said upon his appointment to succeed Patronis in July.

    “Instead, Ron DeSantis is appointing a Tallahassee politician more loyal to him than to the people. I believe Blaise Ingoglia will talk tough but continue the tradition of giving the insurance companies everything they ask for while Florida’s working families and seniors pay the price.”

    Ingoglia is native New Yorker and homebuilder who moved to Spring Hill in Hernando County (about 50 miles north of Tampa) in the mid-1990s. He was elected to the Florida House in 2014 and simultaneously served as Republican Party of Florida chairman from 2015 to 2019. He had served in the Senate since 2022.

    The potential competition 

    He’s a close political ally of Gov. DeSantis, who will be pushing for his election over the next year. The governor snubbed another Republican lawmaker who had previously announced his candidacy for CFO, Sarasota County’s Joe Gruters, who had already been endorsed by President Donald Trump. Early polls showed Gruters crushing Ingoglia in a presumptive Republican CFO primary in August 2026.

    But that likely heavyweight matchup was averted after Trump elevated Gruters to lead the Republican National Committee. However, another Republican that Ingoglia may face next year is Rep. Kevin Steele, R-Dade City, former CEO of a health care technology company who announced on his 2022 financial disclosure form that he is worth more than $400 million.

    Steele last week announced creation of a political committee called “Friends of Kevin Steele.” Earlier this month, Florida Politics reported that Steele was being “encouraged” to run by Trump — which could prove a headache for Ingoglia.

    Ingoglia boasted to the crowd that he was the RPOF’s chair when Trump narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton in Florida in 2016.

    “I helped Donald Trump get elected in this state,” he said. “I was a campaign spokesman for him. An official surrogate in 2020. And that man is doing amazing things at the federal level right now.”

    Two other Republicans have filed to run for CFO: Frank William Collige and Benjamin Horbowy. No Democrat has filed for the seat, according to the state’s Division of Elections website.

    Ingoglia is a fiercely partisan Republican. He joked that when he growing up, his mother said that he could be anything he wanted, “So, I decided to become a problem for Democrats,” he said, generating laughs from the crowd. “And some Republicans, also,” he added.

    In 2023, he filed a bill that, if enacted, would have eliminated the Florida Democratic Party. Dubbed “The Ultimate Cancel Act,” it was intended to “cancel” the filings of any party that previously advocated for slavery, which Southern Democrats did in the 19th Century. He later described the bill as a direct response to “leftist activists and their attempts to cancel people and companies.” (The bill never received a committee hearing).

    He takes pride in being politically incorrect. He joked during his speech, “I’m a very big fan of DEI — and by that I mean deport every illegal.” In his video announcing his candidacy earlier this month, Ingoglia said that he spoke four languages: English, profanity, sarcasm and “real s—.”

    During his tenure in the Legislature, Ingoglia sponsored some of DeSantis’ biggest priorities. In 2023, he led the way on SB 1718, a comprehensive crackdown on illegal immigration in Florida. That measure mandated the use of E-Verify for employers, banned the use of legally issued driver’s licenses from states that issue them regardless of immigration status, and provided $12 million in taxpayer dollars to fund a program that transported immigrants away from Florida.

    Ingoglia also sponsored a bill that year that has made it much more difficult for teachers’ unions to collect dues and qualify to represent a bargaining unit.

    Among those in attendance for the event were Pinellas County Sen. Nick DiCeglie (emcee of the event), Rep. Danny Alvarez (R-Hillsborough), Rep. Jeff Holcomb (R-Spring Hill), and former Lakeland area Republican lawmaker Kelli Stargell.

    Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Contact Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.

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    Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
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  • ‘Destroying vital evidence’: Florida CFO accuses social media companies of shielding child predators – Orlando Weekly

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    Credit: via Blaise Ingoglia @GovGoneWild/X

    Florida’s chief financial officer demanded Friday that social media companies be held accountable for creating disappearing messages that handicap child sex trafficking investigations.

    Blaise Ingoglia, a Spring Hill Republican and former state senator, accused social media platforms of “destroying evidence” of messages between groomers and minors by installing instant vanishing features across platforms. His comments came Friday, amid a broader legal battle waged by Florida officials trying to impose age restrictions on social media companies.

    “A lot of these tech companies are in this state of de facto protecting these predators,” Ingoglia said during a Winter Haven press conference, speaking alongside Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, adding that a case that should be a “slam dunk” for law enforcement is stopped by vanishing messages.

    “These social media companies need to be held accountable for destroying vital evidence that law enforcement needs to put these predators in prison,” he told The Florida Phoenix in a phone call later. “It’s severely hindering and handicapping their efforts.”

    Ingoglia, appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis as CFO in July, had sponsored a bill during the 2025 session that would have required social media companies to decrypt messages if subpoenaed by a court, and would have prohibited minors from having access to disappearing messages. The measure failed, despite passing the Senate.

    This isn’t Florida’s only venture into targeting the social media world. The predominantly GOP-led Legislature in 2024 passed a law banning social media companies from allowing children under 15 years old to create accounts, sparking a massive legal battle between state officials and two trade associations representing social media giants. The law was blocked by an appellate court over the summer, but the case remains pending.

    Earlier this year, Uthmeier filed a lawsuit against Snapchat, a social media platform allowing users to send each other photos and messages that can vanish instantly after viewing. He heralded the April case as just the beginning of his continued crackdown on social media platforms, building off of a separate investigation into the gaming platform Roblox.

    Other platforms that allow for encrypted messages include Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal.

    As a lawmaker, Ingoglia also sponsored a new law funding a grant for law enforcement to ramp up online sting operations to capture and imprison child predators. During Friday’s press conference, which announced 246 arrests of human traffickers, child predators, and prostitutes in just seven days, Ingoglia added that parents need to become aware of the “depravity” of online predators.

    “You have no idea of the depravity that is waiting to take advantage, take hold of them, abuse them, and turn their lives upside down,” he said. “Social media companies should stop the encryption of any message that has a minor account so law enforcement can have the proof they need to put these scumbags away for life.”

    Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Contact Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.

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  • Focus on county’s spending is politically motivated, Orange County Mayor says

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    Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has accused Florida’s chief financial officer of political motives behind the recent scrutiny of the county, following subpoenas issued to government employees amid a recent audit. During a news conference on Wednesday, CFO Blaise Ingoglia announced subpoenas involving Orange County employees accused of altering emails related to certain programs.”Upon our team’s arrival, we started receiving those tips that Orange County employees were possibly tampering with documents to circumvent our review of their egregious spending,” Ingoglia said.Ingoglia’s office received a tip from someone within the Orange County government alleging that people were changing the names of DEI files. This comes amid a recent audit alleging excessive spending within the county.16 Orange County employees and six grant programs the county supports are under the state’s microscopeThe Florida CFO wants all records on:The Black History Project, Inc.Central Florida Urban League, Inc.Zebra Youth, Inc.Caribbean Community Connections of Orlando, Inc.Orlando Youth Alliance, Inc.Stono Institute for Freedom, Justice, and Security, Inc.”It’s a critical program. I have no problem if the CFO wants to take a look at the program because we are very confident in what we’ve done,” Jeremy Levitt said.Jeremy Levitt is president of the Stono Institute.He says the program has received under 75,000 dollars over two years, and the grant expired last December.”We need to solve one of the critical issues between citizens and law enforcement. So, what we do is train young people in de-escalation.”” You normally ride around this neighborhood and hang out?” Eatonville Police Chief Stanley Murray said during a role-playing event with Levitt.Levitt teaches de-escalation during a traffic stop by knowing your rights and responsibilities.He says they’re a non-partisan and multi-ethnic racial justice and human rights organization.“We’ve trained entire groups of young white children. We’ve trained entire groups of young black and brown children. It doesn’t make any difference to us.Mayor Demings responded to the allegations on Thursday. He said, “Certainly, from a county perspective, we fully cooperated with the DOGE inquiry that was being done here. They didn’t talk to me, but they talked to our staff. And what our staff has said is that they answered whatever questions and provided whatever information was requested of them.”Demings believes the state has not shown any evidence to support the allegations and claims the county has been tried and convicted before the investigation is complete. “This community is a target. This is not about Orange County, and this is not about the employees. This is politically motivated for other reasons,” he said.Demings urged the public to “stand by” as the situation becomes clearer, emphasizing that the attacks are occurring on “good, hard-working people here within Orange County.” Ingoglia says after interviewing county employees, if more subpoenas need to be issued, he will.

    ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —

    Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has accused Florida’s chief financial officer of political motives behind the recent scrutiny of the county, following subpoenas issued to government employees amid a recent audit.

    During a news conference on Wednesday, CFO Blaise Ingoglia announced subpoenas involving Orange County employees accused of altering emails related to certain programs.

    “Upon our team’s arrival, we started receiving those tips that Orange County employees were possibly tampering with documents to circumvent our review of their egregious spending,” Ingoglia said.

    Ingoglia’s office received a tip from someone within the Orange County government alleging that people were changing the names of DEI files. This comes amid a recent audit alleging excessive spending within the county.

    16 Orange County employees and six grant programs the county supports are under the state’s microscope

    The Florida CFO wants all records on:

    • The Black History Project, Inc.
    • Central Florida Urban League, Inc.
    • Zebra Youth, Inc.
    • Caribbean Community Connections of Orlando, Inc.
    • Orlando Youth Alliance, Inc.
    • Stono Institute for Freedom, Justice, and Security, Inc.

    “It’s a critical program. I have no problem if the CFO wants to take a look at the program because we are very confident in what we’ve done,” Jeremy Levitt said.

    Jeremy Levitt is president of the Stono Institute.

    He says the program has received under 75,000 dollars over two years, and the grant expired last December.

    “We need to solve one of the critical issues between citizens and law enforcement. So, what we do is train young people in de-escalation.”

    ” You normally ride around this neighborhood and hang out?” Eatonville Police Chief Stanley Murray said during a role-playing event with Levitt.

    Levitt teaches de-escalation during a traffic stop by knowing your rights and responsibilities.

    He says they’re a non-partisan and multi-ethnic racial justice and human rights organization.

    “We’ve trained entire groups of young white children. We’ve trained entire groups of young black and brown children. It doesn’t make any difference to us.

    Mayor Demings responded to the allegations on Thursday.

    He said, “Certainly, from a county perspective, we fully cooperated with the DOGE inquiry that was being done here. They didn’t talk to me, but they talked to our staff. And what our staff has said is that they answered whatever questions and provided whatever information was requested of them.”

    Demings believes the state has not shown any evidence to support the allegations and claims the county has been tried and convicted before the investigation is complete.

    “This community is a target. This is not about Orange County, and this is not about the employees. This is politically motivated for other reasons,” he said.

    Demings urged the public to “stand by” as the situation becomes clearer, emphasizing that the attacks are occurring on “good, hard-working people here within Orange County.”

    Ingoglia says after interviewing county employees, if more subpoenas need to be issued, he will.

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