ALACHUA, Fla. –Today, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Blaise Ingoglia announced that Alachua County is excessively spending over $84 million above the amount that would account for population growth and inflation in its General Fund Budget. CFO Ingoglia is calling upon Alachua County to take action for its residents now, and remove this waste from their budget.

Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, said “Floridians are suffering due to rising property taxes, whether it is in the large metro areas of our state or our smaller communities like Alachua County. I am calling on the Alachua County government to provide real relief to its taxpayers and put Alachua County families first, ahead of reckless spending.”

Katrine Dunn, Alachua County Homeowner and Mother, said, “As a Gainesville native and mother of 7, I know firsthand how rising property taxes negatively affect our family. My adult children want to be homeowners, and they struggle due to high property taxes, while hopes of buying homes for their own families slip away. I am thankful for CFO Ingoglia's leadership on this issue and his commitment to highlighting how our local government excessively spends our tax dollars.”

Alachua County’s General Fund Budget has increased by $140 million since Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-2020, an increase of 77.1 percent, while its population has increased by 15,605. That means that for each new resident who moved to Alachua County, the General Fund Budget increased by $8,973, and for a family of four, the General Fund increased by $35,892.

Alachua County has hired 136 new full-time employees since 2019. The county can reduce the millage rate by 0.24 mills without impacting services provided to residents. With this reduction in millage, homeowners could save:

• A taxable home value of $300,000 would save $72 per year.
• A taxable home value of $400,000 would save $96 per year. 
• · A taxable home value of $500,000 would save $120 per year. 

With today’s announcement, CFO Ingoglia has already identified over $754 million in excessive spending across four local governments. CFO Ingoglia plans to continue to expose wasteful and excessive spending across the state as a key part of his role as the Chief Financial Officer of Florida.