~Highest Amount of Wasteful Spending Across Nine Local Governments~

MIAMI—Today, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Blaise Ingoglia announced over $302 million in the Miami-Dade County Budget as “excessive, wasteful spending.” This is the highest amount of wasteful spending across the nine local governments that have been reviewed. CFO Ingoglia is calling on local officials in Miami-Dade County to stop the reckless spending and provide meaningful property tax relief to residents. With this announcement, CFO Ingoglia has exposed an astounding $1.5 billion in wasteful spending across just nine local governments.

Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia said, “I continue to be astounded at the amount of wasteful, excessive spending by local governments over the last five years, but unfortunately, Miami-Dade County takes the cake. They have overspent and overtaxed their residents to the tune of $302 million, and they have exploded the local government bureaucracy with the hiring of more than 2800 employees over just the last 5 years. Miami-Dade officials must take action to do better by their constituents and provide property tax relief for the families that depend on them.”

Turner Losel with James Madison Institute said, “Florida taxpayers have consistently expressed a desire for property tax reform. In a recent JMI poll, 72% of Florida registered voters have shown their overwhelming support for change. We are grateful for CFO Ingoglia paving the way for property tax relief, starting with holding local governments accountable.”

From Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-2020, the General Fund Budget of Miami-Dade County has increased by over $843 million, representing an increase of 50.28%. Miami-Dade County can cut their millage rate by 0.53 mills without impacting any services provided to constituents. If Miami-Dade County offered to provide this relief, homeowners would save:

• A taxable home value of $500,000 would save $266 per year
• A taxable home value of $600,000 would save $319 per year
• A taxable home value of $700,000 would save $372 per year

The population for Miami-Dade County has increased by 65,501 since FY 2019-2020. For every individual who moved to the county, the budget increased by $12,884. For a family of four, the budget increased by $51,535.

CFO Ingoglia has exposed $1.5 billion in excessive, wasteful spending in the FY 2024-2025 General Fund Budget across nine local governments. CFO Ingoglia plans to continue to expose excessive, wasteful spending across the state as part of his role as Chief Financial Officer of Florida.