Florida DOGE auditing Manatee County

MANATEE COUNTY – The Florida Department of Government Ef­ficiency (DOGE) is auditing Manatee County’s finances.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the audit during his July 24 visit to Bra­denton, during which he mentioned the steep property tax increases in Manatee County in recent years.

The same day, Manatee County Commission Chairman George Kruse received a letter from DOGE that began by saying, “The Florida DOGE team, in partnership with Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and the Office of Policy and Budget, have identified Manatee County for further review and an on-site visit. Although Manatee County has taken steps to reduce the county-wide millage rate in recent years, rising property values have pushed annual property tax col­lections up by over $200 million since 2019, according to your published budgets. This increased burden on property owners has helped Manatee County increase the county’s net an­nual budget by almost $600 million since 2020 – an increase in spending of 80% during that period.”

County Administrator Charlie Bishop was copied as a recipient of the DOGE letters. Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, the city of Orlando and the city of Jacksonville are among the other Florida counties and cities that recently received similar DOGE letters.

In addition to paying county property taxes, Anna Maria, Bra­denton Beach and Holmes Beach property owners also pay annual city property taxes at a much lower millage rate than the county’s millage rate. Property owners in Bradenton, Palmetto and the northern portion of Longboat Key also pay city and county property taxes. Property owners in unincorporated areas, including Cortez, don’t pay city property taxes.

“Having entrusted their governments with the power to tax, the citizens of Florida have a right to expect that their elected officials will spend the collected funds responsibly, not recklessly, and on truly necessary programs,” the DOGE letter says. “Through the DOGE effort, Gov. DeSantis has charged us to identify and report on this type of excessive spending at the county and municipal level.”

The letter also says, “We hereby request access to your county’s physical premises, data systems and responsive personnel on Aug. 5 and Aug. 6, at the county administration building and such other locations that you identify as necessary to comply with these requests. You should note that financial penalties may accrue for your failure to comply with each of the following requests for access on those dates.”

The letter is signed by Ingoglia, DOGE Team Leader Eric Soskin and Office of Policy and Budget Director Leda Kelly.

On July 31, county commissioners voted 5-1 in favor of setting the county’s tentative millage rate at the same 6.0826 mills in effect for the current fiscal year. Subject to revision before final adoption in September, Manatee County’s $2.54 billion 2026 fiscal year budget currently includes $1.38 billion in newly generated revenues, including property tax revenues. The $2.54 billion total also includes debts and other financial obligations being carried over from the 2025 fiscal year that ends on Sept. 30.

DOGE requests

The two-page DOGE letter was accompanied by six pages of specific requests for detailed financial information, including capital expenditures, operating costs and funding sources for the county-contracted Gulf Islands Ferry service that operates between downtown Bradenton and Anna Maria Island, the Riverwalk Day Dock in downtown Bradenton and the Bradenton Beach Pier in Bradenton Beach that cur­rently serve as ferry stops. Because of the hurricane damage that Hurricane Milton inflicted on the City Pier in 2024, ferry service in Anna Maria remains suspended until a new City Pier walkway is built.

The DOGE letter also requests in­formation about the county’s property management efforts and the purchase or sale of any public-owned property, specifically, the county’s recently an­nounced $24 million purchase of an existing building in Lakewood Ranch to be used for expanded county govern­ment operations. The July 24 letter was received before county commissioners’ unanimous July 29 decision to buy the 39-acre Mixon Fruit Farms property and wedding venue in east Bradenton for $13.5 million.

DOGE also seeks detailed informa­tion about:

• county procurement processes and policies;
• contracts awarded in excess of $10,000 and the vendors awarded those contracts;
• compensation paid to county employees;
• the county utilities system;
• the county’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs and efforts;
• county expenditures related to climate change, emissions reduction or carbon reduction, including the purchase of battery-powered electric vehicles;
• grants and matching grants received by the county;
• the county’s rules and policies re­garding government vehicle allowances, including a list of all county personnel making use of a take-home vehicle;
• the county’s Government Relations department, including job descriptions and departmental expenditures to date;
• project descriptions, budgeted costs, actual costs and cost overruns or savings for county transportation-related capital projects that began, remain ongoing or have been completed since Jan. 1, 2023;
• the installation, initial costs and maintenance costs and estimated life cycle for all traffic calming devices, included but not limited to speed tables, speed humps, raised intersections, curb extensions and chokers; and
• homeless services provided by the county, the effectiveness of those efforts and any grant funds provided to other agencies that assist the homeless.