BRADENTON, Fla.- Today, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Blaise Ingoglia announced over $112 million is being excessively and wastefully spent in the Manatee County Budget. CFO Ingoglia is urging the county to change course with its spending habits and offer substantial property tax relief to its residents.

Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia said, “Local governments have consistently proven how irresponsible they are with taxpayer dollars. Property tax relief is needed to ensure that residents can thrive in their homes and communities. Manatee County, along with local governments across the state, should focus on reducing the burden on taxpayers. Residents are asking for property tax relief and local governments need to deliver.”

Jeff Kottkamp, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Florida Tax Watch, said, “Local property taxes have far exceeded the rate of population growth and inflation, which has increased the financial strain on homeowners. Today’s announcement is a call to action for local governments, like Manatee County, to evaluate budgets ensuring maximum value for taxpayers' hard-earned dollars. We applaud CFO Blaise Ingoglia for working hard to bring transparency and accountability for Florida's taxpayers.” 

Dave Spicer, business owner and Manatee County Resident, said, “As a proud Floridian, it is shocking to see extremely high numbers of excessive spending from my county. While property taxes rise, our return on our investment does not. This makes it extremely challenging to be a homeowner in Manatee County. I am thankful for CFO Ingoglia’s mission to eliminate reckless spending and fight for property tax relief for all Floridians.” 

Manatee County’s General Fund Budget has increased by over $268 million since Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-2020, an increase of 69%. The county experienced an increase in population since FY 2019-2020 of 61,545. Additionally, the budget increased by $4,369 for every person that moved to Manatee County, it increases for a family of four by $17,479.

Manatee County could reduce its millage rate by 1.09 mills without impacting the services provided to citizens. If Manatee County applied this reduction, homeowners could save:

• A taxable home value of $400,000 could save $436 per year
• A taxable home value of $500,000 could save $545 per year
• A taxable home value of $600,000 could save $655 per year

CFO Ingoglia has found over $1.1 billion in excessive, wasteful spending in FY 24-25 General Fund budgets across seven local governments. CFO Ingoglia plans to continue to expose wasteful and excessive spending across the state as part of his role as Chief Financial Officer of Florida.