Responding to notice from the Florida Department of Government Efficiency team that it intends to review the city of Jacksonville’s finances, Mayor Donna Deegan said she would welcome any investigation “not driven by partisanship or political gamesmanship.”
In a July 28 letter to the city, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Department of Government Efficiency expressed discontent with rising property taxes, saying that a 57% increase in city tax revenue since 2020 was creating a “growing burden” on taxpayers that outpaced inflation and population growth. The letter said city tax collections rose by more than $400 million over that time.
“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 and on truly necessary programs,” read the DOGE letter, signed by Eric Soskin and Leda Kelly of DeSantis’ executive office, and Blaise Ingoglia of the Department of Financial Services.
Jacksonville’s millage rate decreased slightly since 2020, from 11.4419 to 11.3169 mills. Under former Mayor Lenny Curry, city leaders reduced the rate in 2022 amid an infusion of federal pandemic relief funding.
Deegan’s budget proposal for the 2025-26 fiscal year maintains that 11.3169 millage rate. The millage rate is used to determine property tax bills, with one mill equal to $1 of tax per $1,000 of assessed property value.
At least five Jacksonville City Council members have said publicly they support a reduction in the rate for the city’s 2025-26 budget year.
‘Burden on property owners’
The DOGE letter acknowledged that Jacksonville’s leadership had reduced the rate but said rising property values resulted in a “burden on property owners” that “far outpaces inflation and the modest growth in population over that time.”
DOGE officials requested access to Jacksonville’s city’s physical premises, data systems and responsive personnel. Officials will be in Jacksonville over two days beginning Aug. 8, overlapping with the start of Jacksonville City Council hearings on Deegan’s proposed city budget. State officials made 22 specific requests falling under procurement and contracting, personnel compensation and property management.
DOGE officials requested access to procurement contracts over $10,000, along with the policies and procedures related to those contracts; a list of all compensation for city employees, contract benefits, productivity and overtime records; and records of the lease or sale of public-owned property.
DOGE officials threatened financial penalties against Jacksonville should the city fail to comply with requests when the task force is in town.
In a July 31 response, Deegan’s office said DOGE officials would find that the city’s finances “have been managed responsibly and prudently,” as evidenced by the three major agencies that assess the city’s financial health giving it top-tier ratings this year and in 2024.
The office also said the city maintained the number of non-public safety employees despite a fast-growing population and the lowest millage rate “by far” of major Florida cities.
Follows Musk DOGE
Florida DOGE was created in February after billionaire Elon Musk created his national DOGE department to work under President Donald Trump. Announcing the state office’s creation, DeSantis’ office said it would reduce “bureaucratic bloat.”
DeSantis is a Republican. Deegan is a Democrat.
In April, after Republican City Council member Terrance Freeman introduced a proposal to invite the state DOGE team to audit the city’s finances, Deegan called it a duplicated effort that smacked of a political move.
During an April 8 appearance on the WJCT News talk show “First Coast Connect,” Deegan said the city charter already requires an annual examination of the city’s books by an independent auditor. She said Council had put the audit process in motion, making it difficult for her to understand why Freeman would request that tax dollars be spent for state officials to conduct another audit.
Republican Council member Ron Salem launched a local DOGE examination that largely focused on unspent funds appropriated to capital projects. That effort uncovered about $20 million in unspent funding.
Salem was chair and Freeman vice-chair of the Council Finance Committee that scrutinized the city’s 2024-25 budget. It was approved 16-1.
Member Rory Diamond cast the lone no vote. Diamond, elected to Council 2019, has never voted in favor of any city budget.
This year, the Finance Committee is: Raul Arias, chair; Nick Howland, vice chair; Salem; Diamond; Joe Carlucci; Will Lahnen and Ju’Coby Pittman.
Florida DOGE will serve a one-year term, eliminating what it determines to be unnecessary government offices and auditing local governments, state agencies and institutions of higher education during that time.