Manatee County responds after Florida CFO bashes ‘wasteful’ government spending
After a state audit claimed Manatee County’s budget is excessively growing, county officials say they want to “better understand” the findings.
On Thursday, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia presented the results of his office’s Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight (FAFO) audit of the county during a press conference in downtown Bradenton. Among the findings, Ingoglia said the county’s general fund is $112 million more than what the state thinks it should be.
“They’re hiring librarians, administrators, clerks and expanding government at a rate that is probably unprecedented in this area,” said Ingoglia, who argued that those new hires are examples of “wasteful, excessive spending” by Manatee County Government.
Bill Logan, a spokesperson for Manatee County Government, provided a statement to the Bradenton Herald on Friday morning in response to Ingoglia’s appearance in Bradenton. The statement came after county officials previously declined the Bradenton Herald’s request for comment on Ingoglia’s findings.
“Manatee County has been fully cooperative with the CFO’s office and the Governor’s (Department of Government Efficiency) team throughout the last several months. Our team has supplied all requested information promptly and in good faith and has maintained regular communication with state officials, including meeting with the DOGE team this week in Tallahassee,” Logan said.
“We were not previously aware of the details released by the Chief Financial Officer today, but we welcome the opportunity to review the findings and better understand the analysis…Manatee County remains committed to transparency, accountability and responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources,” the statement continued. “We value our partnership with the State of Florida and share the same goal — to serve residents efficiently and effectively across all our shared communities.”
Logan also noted that the county established its own local citizen-led DOGE committee to review the county’s finances and coordinate with the state.
When reached for comment on Friday, Commissioner Tal Siddique declined to comment. Manatee County’s other six board members — Commissioners Carol Ann Felts, Amanda Ballard, Mike Rahn, Bob McCann, Jason Bearden and George Kruse — did not immediately respond to the Bradenton Herald.
Ingoglia says Manatee County among the ‘worst’
Manatee County is the seventh local government targeted by FAFO audits. Ingoglia said his staff has uncovered over $1 billion in excessive funds while analyzing the seven governments’ current budgets.
However, Ingoglia said Manatee County’s audit stood out.
“On a percentage basis, Manatee County is probably the worst that we’ve come across so far in the amount of the percentage over and above inflation and population,” Ingoglia said.
In addition to the $112 million in excess, Ingoglia said the county’s general fund budget has increased $269 million in the last five years while the population has grown a little over 60,000.
That means the county is spending $4,300 per person moving to Manatee County, according to Ingoglia.
Aside from stating the county has hired 472 new full-time employees in the past five years, Ingoglia did not give any more specifics of “excessive spending.” He said the FAFO audit is separate from the state’s DOGE audit.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Ingoglia visited Bradenton in July to announce the DOGE audit, which reviews specific items in the county’s budget like property acquisition, personnel and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
When asked what happens next with the audit results, Ingoglia said he is performing the audits to arm citizens with information, and it will be up to the voters to respond in upcoming elections.
Specifically, Ingoglia touted a proposed statewide referendum that could be on the November 2026 ballot. The referendum could eliminate property taxes on homesteaded properties if approved by Florida voters .
“I’m doing this as a way to inform the public what their local governments are doing with their property tax dollars,” he said. “Regardless of county, regardless of city, all we are doing is arming them with information. Another thing that we are doing is arming them with information in advance of a constitutional amendment that should be on the November 2026 ballot.”
