HOLMES BEACH – Island leaders are under a deadline to respond to a letter they received this month from the new state DOGE task force, and the Holmes Beach mayor has already taken action.
Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order on Feb. 24 that created the Florida State Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) task force. On March 18, the Office of the Governor’s new DOGE task force electronically transmitted a two-page letter to the cities of Holmes Beach, Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach and all other Florida municipalities regarding their financial condition.
Addressed to “Dear Local Official,” the letter begins by stating, “Pursuant to Executive Order 25-44, the Executive Office of the Governor has established an EOG DOGE Team which will use advanced technology to identify, review and report on unnecessary spending within county and municipal governments and recommend legislative reforms to promote efficiency, maximize productivity and eliminate waste in state and local government. These efforts are focused on ensuring fiscal responsibility throughout Florida.
“In addition to assessing your municipality’s publicly available information over the coming weeks and months, the EOG DOGE Team is also assessing compliance with the financial management requirements set forth in section 218.503, Florida Statutes. This provision outlines the circumstances under which a local governmental entity is deemed to be in financial emergency or distress, triggering necessary corrective actions,” the DOGE letter says.
“To fulfill our oversight role, and in accordance with article IV, section 1(a) of the Florida Constitution, we respectfully request confirmation as to whether your municipality has encountered any instances of financial emergency or distress, including those listed in section 218.503(1), Florida Statutes, such as:
- Failure to pay short-term loans or obligations when due as a result of lack of funds.
- Failure to make debt service payments on bonds, loans or other debt instruments when due.
- Failure to timely pay uncontested claims from creditors for more than 90 days due to lack of funds.
- Failure to transfer taxes, Social Security contributions or retirement plan contributions as required by law.
- An unreserved or total fund balance deficit in the general fund or any major operating fund that persists for two consecutive years.”
The letter says, “If your municipality has encountered any of these conditions since state fiscal year 2018-19, or anticipates potential financial distress in the next six months, please provide a written response detailing the specific circumstances, any corrective actions taken, a point of contact and any additional information relevant to compliance with statutory financial obligations.”
In closing, the DOGE letter says, “Please submit your response no later than April 8 to ensure timely review and, if necessary, assistance from state authorities. If we do not receive a response from you within 45 days, it will be presumed that your municipality is in possible statutory violation and in need of assistance. We appreciate your cooperation in maintaining the fiscal integrity of local governmental operations.”
The letter is signed, “Sincerely, EOG DOGE Team.”
Florida league of cities’ response
The following day, the Florida League of Cities (FLC) distributed an electronic letter to city officials that said, “We are reaching out to confirm that the letter your city received from the Executive Office of the Governor DOGE Team is legitimate and was sent to every municipality in Florida. The governor’s office has requested that each city respond within 45 days of receiving the letter.”
The FLC letter includes a draft response cities can use when submitting a response if the city can answer ‘No’ to all five questions posed in the DOGE letter and has not encountered any instances of financial emergency or distress.
The FLC draft response says, “Dear Executive Office of the Governor DOGE Team, This correspondence serves as [City Name]’s response to the financial review letter received from your office. After careful evaluation, we confirm that our municipality has not encountered any conditions of financial emergency or distress, as outlined in the letter, since the state fiscal year 2018-19. If additional information is required, please do not hesitate to contact us.”
In closing, the FLC letter says, “Please note: If a response is not received within 45 days, the governor’s office will presume that your municipality may be in possible statutory violation and in need of state assistance.”
Holmes beach response
On March 20, using the FLC draft response, Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth sent the following recommended response to the DOGE team: “This correspondence serves as the city of Holmes Beach’s response to the financial review letter received from your office. After careful evaluation, we confirm that our municipality has not encountered any conditions of financial emergency or distress, as outlined in the letter, since the state fiscal year 2018-19. If additional information is required, please do not hesitate to contact us.”
