Newly formed Florida DOGE team requests city and county help in assessing financial health
Governor Ron Desantis created Florida's EOG DOGE team last month with an executive order, and this week, that team sent letters to local governments asking them to disclose information about their financial health.
The letter demands a response by April 8th, stating, 'If we do not receive a response from you within 45 days, it will be presumed that your county is in possible statutory violation and in need of assistance.'
The letter states that Florida's DOGE plans to use 'advanced technology to identify, review, and report on unnecessary spending within county and municipal governments.'
Much like the Federal Department of Governmental Efficiency, the letter states Florida's DOGE will recommend legislative reforms and eliminate waste.
It warns the EOG DOGE team will soon start assessing publicly available information in the coming weeks.
The letter also asks officials to confirm whether they've experienced any financial emergencies or distress as defined by the state statute, including failing to pay loans or operating a budget deficit.
The letter was sent to officials on Tuesday, and by Thursday evening, Orange County had already sent a response telling the DOGE team, 'We are pleased to report that Orange County Government has NOT experienced any instances of financial emergency or distress as defined in Section 218.503(1), Florida Statutes, nor do we anticipate any potential financial distress in the next six months. "
Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek also publicly posted her response on Facebook, stating, 'This letter came yesterday, and I wasn't kidding when I said Oviedo was ready. YES, we will cooperate.'
Sladek told Channel 9 that the city has not experienced any financial issues, adding that the city is audited by a third party every year and that 'checks and balances' exist to keep the city healthy.
'We never spend more than what we bring in. And that's under the state constitution. we're not allowed to,' said Sladek.
Meanwhile, this week, the governor also called on local governments to allow DOGE to complete voluntary audits of its finances.
'We are working with the Florida Legislature to get more prescriptive authority to go in and conduct audits of these local governments so taxpayers get the full picture of what's going on. But until that happens, counties that are willing to step up and ask for these audits are really leading by example,' said the Governor in a video posted to 'X.'
In that video, the Governor applauded Bay County Officials for volunteering for a DOGE audit.
On Friday, Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe told Channel 9 she has no issues with letting Florida's DOGE review Orange County's budget.
'What is wrong with showing our books? It is not our money, it is the public's money,' said Uribe.
Uribe told Channel 9 that Orange County remains the only Florida County with an independently elected comptroller who approves county spending and regularly conducts audits.
She added the county budgeting process is always open to the public.
'There should never be a fear in having that audit. We're not perfect. But if something has happened, it needs to be corrected. It's better to correct it now and not allow that to continue,' said Uribe.
On Friday, Channel 9 checked in with other local counties, which were all in various stages of complying with the DOGE letter.
Officials in Osceola County told Channel 9 they had no financial issues and planned to respond soon.
Officials in Volusia County said they were 'conducting our due diligence and compiling information for a reply.'
Meanwhile, a Brevard County official noted they initially 'viewed the letter as highly suspect " because it did not have a name attached, and they had not previously had contact with the EOG DOGE team. The official told Channel 9 that the county was also reviewing the letter.
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