Dive Brief:

• Gainesville, Florida Mayor Harvey Ward will cooperate with the state’s planned audit of the city’s spending as required by law, noting that the staff is “already working hard to meet the broad and deep requests, and we are well aware of the challenging timelines,” Ward said in an emailed response to questions Wednesday.
• The city, along with Broward County, were the first communities to receive letters from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and state officials including CFO Blaise Ingoglia, announcing inspections of local government spending and requesting financial and DEI information along with access to offices, data and personnel, CFO Dive previously reported. 
• Ward stands by the “efficiency and resiliency” of the city government, he said in an earlier statement Tuesday, noting that over the past two years the city commission has passed a “historic” debt reduction plan and eliminated more than 160 staff positions. “Gainesville has already gone through an extensive DOGE-style process initiated by the Florida Legislature,” Ward said. “We will continue to be responsive to state government while meeting the needs and values of our Gainesville neighbors.”​​​​

Dive Insight:

While most state CFOs remain behind the scenes, the push to commence local government audits signals that Ingoglia is following in the footsteps of his predecessor Jimmy Patronis, who drew headlines on a wide range of controversial issues. The high profile nature of the Florida finance chief’s stance on the audits coming just days after his appointment may also reflect a recent broader shift in public expectations for CFOs in which financial leadership is expected to not only safeguard assets but to communicate a strong ideological stance, CFO Dive previously reported.   

The DOGE-style audits that DeSantis and Ingoglia, both Republicans, have promised to take to local governments take their name from the controversial federal initiative that grew out of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency, which led to the firing of thousands of federal workers and slashed funding for many agencies and programs.

Last month, Gainesville City Commission signaled that they were on track for a 7.8% property tax rate increase as it sought to close a $9.8 million budget gap in its fiscal 2026 budget, according to an Aluchua Chronicle report. Separately, the Gainesville Regional Transit System has faced cuts to service due to the University of Florida trimming its funding, according to a separate report from the publication.

Ward, a Democrat, said he expects that other historically “Blue” cities and counties will undergo similar scrutiny, but maintained he will continue to be responsive to state government. “The City of Gainesville has been and remains an open book,” Ward said in the statement.