Manatee County welcomes audit by Florida DOGE Task Force

While most people dread any type of audit, Manatee County Commission Chair George Kruse welcomes the county’s upcoming audit by the Florida DOGE Task Force. 

Kruse called the audit an opportunity to look for efficiencies and savings. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the audit during a press conference at the Manatee Performing Arts Center July 24. He was accompanied by Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia. 

DeSantis said Manatee County would be the next subject of an audit because it was upon request. 

“We’ve had a lot of feedback, a lot of concern,” DeSantis said. “You’ve seen a significant increase in spending at the county level.” 

DeSantis honed in on the last six years. He said that property tax receipts increased by 86%, which equates to $213 million. However, growth in Manatee County has only increased by 14%. 

To address the dissonance, DOGE will look at the basis for that increased spending to see if it’s justified. 

While Manatee County staff and commissioners were unaware that DeSantis would be holding a press conference about the matter, the audit was not necessarily a surprise. 

In February, DeSantis issued a press release stating that a DOGE Task Force would be using publicly available county and municipal spending records to expose bloat within local governance. 

In April, Kruse responded by proposing a five-member advisory board, composed of citizens with backgrounds in accounting, auditing, finance, IT and human resources, that would provide an independent review of the county's spending.  

The board will be formed for one year, and its members will be appointed July 29. 

Kruse said the county had already responded to one records request from the state and was in the process of responding to another when news of the audit broke. 

While the latest request entails a lot more information to be handed over, Kruse said 80% of it is only a matter of generating reports. 

The other 20% is more complicated because the requests require subjective explanations, such as why cars for Community and Veterans Services are being wrapped with county branding. 

The task force will be in Manatee County Aug. 5-6. Kruse said staff is working diligently to prepare key cards and access to any records the task force wants to review. 

He noted that an outside, unbiased eye can hopefully present some savings to the county. 

“If we can act on the recommendation and they result in commensurate tax savings, we’re on board with that,” Kruse said.