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Florida DOGE auditing Manatee County

Florida DOGE auditing Manatee County

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Community News, 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.
Bradenton Beach budget

Bradenton Beach gets good budget review

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – City Commissioners praised City Clerk Terri Sanclemente and City Treasurer Shayne Thompson for the clean audit of the 2016-17 fiscal year budget.

On June 13, auditors Randy Dillingham and Jeff Gerhard reviewed with the City Commission the written audit report pertaining to the 2016-17 fiscal year that ended in September.

At year-end, the city had $6.25 million in cash, investments and capital assets. The city ended the fiscal year with a $2.25 million general fund balance and $262,850 in short-term liabilities. This resulted in $1.86 million being carried into the current 2017-18 fiscal year, with $552,143 of that in unassigned funds available for spending at the commission’s discretion.

The city received $2.74 million in revenues and had $2.81 million in expenditures. Dillingham said the city spent $68,900 more than it collected, but spent $285,664 less than originally budgeted. Dillingham said the general fund decreased by $157,038, which was less than $242,866 originally anticipated.

Dillingham said the city collected $195,736 less than budgeted, most of which was due to the one-year delay incurred when transferring stormwater fee billing from the city to the county. Dillingham said the budget would likely have ended with a zero deficit or a positive gain if not for that.

“We all understood that when the budget was adopted,” Mayor John Chappie said.

The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) had a $1.47 million year-end fund balance that included $359,779 in CRA tax revenues transferred from the general fund. The Tingley Memorial Library had a $504,782 fund balance that decreased by $31,990.

“During the audit, we did have 10 adjustments to the statements. That’s a reduction. Every year it’s been going down,” Dillingham said of the year-end adjustments.

“You’re in good financial position,” he concluded.

Commission praise

“The last three or four years have been challenging,” Chappie said.

“When Terri came in, it (the budget) was in bad shape. An elected official was saying things weren’t right, the budget’s terrible. You guys stuck to the plan and the city is right where it needs to be. I want to thank you,” Chappie said to Sanclemente.

“Thank you for everything you’ve added for transparency and accountability,” he said to Thompson.

After the meeting, Chappie said former mayor Bill Shearon was the elected official he was referring to.

“We have a really good staff on board to take care of us,” Commissioner Ralph Cole said.

“We have a great staff,” Commissioner Jake Spooner added.

“I would like to thank all of the departments. We all worked closely together to make this happen. I want to thank the commission too because you’re a big part of what we do,” Sanclemente said.

center audit presentation

Audit results in good news for the Center

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Center of Anna Maria Island, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – Just in time for the holidays, auditors delivered good news to board members at The Center of Anna Maria Island – the nonprofit passed its annual independent audit.

Auditor Eric Troyer with the accounting firm of Kerkering, Barberio and Co. said the audit closing out the 2017 fiscal year, which ended June 30, was nearing completion and “went very well,” with an unmodified opinion result.

The good news from the audit was in the program service fees received and 2017 expense breakdown. Troyer said received program fees were at an all-time high in the 2017 fiscal year at $384,000. One anomaly in the results is the difference between overall revenue for the 2016 fiscal year and 2017, a more than $800,000 reduction that Troyer attributed to the mortgage payoff for the Center’s building and funds received from the BP oil spill. Center Executive Director Kristen Lessig said the mortgage payoff resulted in about $800,000 in debt forgiveness while BP oil spill funds came in at around $260,000.

The Center’s asset value dropped from $4,386,643 in 2016 to $3,868,838 due to depreciation, of which building depreciation accounts for $184,000 annually. In cash received, the Center gained year over year from 2016 by more than $111,000 in 2017.

Expenses in the 2017 fiscal year were “a little better than industry standards,” Troyer said. The audit expense breakdown showed 88 percent of funds going to programming, 7 percent on fundraising and 5 percent on management.

“Out of every dollar donated, 88 cents goes to program expenses,” Board Chair David Zaccagnino said.

Board Treasurer Jim Froeschle said one area where the Center can improve its expenditures is in fundraising, which hasn’t brought in the numbers board members hoped for so far in the 2018 fiscal year. He said part of the reason the numbers aren’t there could be that the Center isn’t investing enough in its fundraising efforts. Through November, fundraising revenue totaled $64,727 with $30,045 in expenses, including donations, grants, and government support. The Center’s budget projected $219,877 in fundraising revenue with $46,415 in fundraising expenses through November, creating a variance of $155,150 in revenue.

The Center also is beginning to close some financial gaps, most notably in general and administrative expenses where cost-cutting has resulted in $31,407 in savings over budget predictions. However, Froeschle’s reports show the nonprofit ending November $126,811 in the red versus a budgeted positive income of $15,572. With the winter busy season beginning, a new partnership with Island Fitness up and running, and a $30,000 matching donation drive on through the end of December, both Lessig and Froeschle said they feel positive about the financial future of the Center.

“Overnight the numbers could change if someone writes a check,” Froeschle said, adding that the Center isn’t giving up on obtaining government financial support and is redoubling efforts to win grant funds.

Center financial results can be viewed online by visiting this link.