Demings: Orange County ready for DOGE investigation

In a 10-page letter penned to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, the Florida Department of Government Efficiency — in partnership with the state’s Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and the office of policy and budget — notified the county of a two-day audit of its spending. 

“Over the last five years, the taxpayers of Orange County have watched as your county government has increased burdens on property owners to the annual tune of $330 million in additional ad valorem tax collections – an increase of over 50%,” the letter said. “This has been part of a growth in annual total expenditures of over $1.6 billion over the past five years, which represents a 57% increase in spending. Having entrusted their governments with the power to tax, the citizens of Florida have a right to expect their elected officials will spend the collected funds responsibly, not recklessly, and on truly necessary programs. (Florida) Gov. (Ron) DeSantis has charged the Florida DOGE team … with identifying and reporting on excessive spending at the county and municipal levels.”

The notification letter went on to advise that under various provisions of the state constitution that DOGE, on behalf of the authority of DeSantis, will be conducting its audit from Tuesday, Aug. 5, to Wednesday, Aug. 6, and will request access to the county’s physical premises, data systems, responsive personnel and whatever else is needed to comply with the detailed requests made in the letter.

While speaking with a group of reporters at the groundbreaking ceremony of Orange County’s newest public green space, Watermark Park, Wednesday, July 30, Demings called the audit political in its nature.  

“All of this is just mean-spirited politics when you get right down to it,” he said. “I realize that Orange County is predominantly a blue county because of (its) political make-up. Commissioner (Nicole) Wilson and I are elected in non-partisan ways. We are entrusted by the people of Orange County (who) elect us to impartially make decisions in the best interest of the entire county, regardless of one’s political affiliation. But I don’t have to tell you all: You’re living through an era of time in which everything that we’re doing is being overly politicized. I don’t think that that’s fair to the people. … Let us have some sensible, common-sense conversations about these types of issues, and not just try to mandate and bully and have a one-way conversation. Sadly, that’s what’s happening in the state of Florida right now.”

Wilson, who was standing alongside Demings at the ceremony, agreed.

“I just really want to make sure that there’s a point that’s being made — especially since we’re at a park opening today — the beauty of local government is that it is the closest to the people; we are in, literally, your backyard,” Wilson said. “You see where we’re spending our money. We have an incredibly transparent and open budget process, and everybody was invited to it a couple weeks ago, and nobody was there from the state of Florida. So, what I want to explain to you is this is very performative. We invite anybody (who) can allow us to see a better way of doing things. We do not want to reinvent the wheel, but the idea of coming for us for things like investing in raised crosswalks or in environmental conservation lands — that is a political position. It is not about saving you time or money.”

Wilson went on to reference another recent “politically motivated” letter received from the state regarding updates to the county’s comprehensive plan — which included reinforcements to conservation plans and protections for Shingle Creek and the St. Johns River. 

“We received a letter (July 29) that says that our comprehensive plan updates … have been preempted and are now considered illegal,” she said. “So, in the same week that we’re being told we’re spending too much money, we’re (also) told … you can’t manage your growth; which is how we end up in debt in our Public Works Department. It’s how we end up in a position of having to spend more to maintain our infrastructure. These are contradictory, and that’s because it’s politically motivated. It’s not actually for the function of better government.”

Regardless of the motivations behind the audit and the subsequent statements made about it, Demings said he is confident the county’s spending decisions will stand up to the scrutiny of the audit and plans on fully cooperating with the 60 specific requests across nine different topics made by the state government’s representatives. 

In an op-ed, Demings wrote: “This week, Orange County government will welcome members of the state of Florida’s DOGE team for a two-day information-gathering visit. We’ve spent a good deal of time preparing for this audit and intend to be fully compliant with their requests. We believe in transparency and are confident that our funding and programming decisions will stand up to their scrutiny. During the DOGE review, we hope they will be pleased to see our yearly investment in public safety. Since 2020, we’ve added five new fire stations, bringing the total to 45, and reducing response times for emergencies. We recently opened a fire training facility so that new recruits are better trained to protect residents. In the upcoming fiscal year, we are planning approximately $1 billion in public safety investments for Orange County’s Sheriff’s Office, Fire Rescue Department and Corrections.”

Demings also highlighted a variety of other investments the county has made, such as the $23 million Orlo Vista Flood Mitigation project to protect residents from flooding because of severe weather; the $90 million in funding for more than 500 programs to support children and families; a $160 million commitment to developing affordable housing; and the county’s $100 million investment in improving transportation through the Accelerated Transportation Safety Program. 

Demings, a longtime law enforcement agent and second-term mayor, also mentioned the county’s work in reducing opioid deaths by more than 37% last year thanks to public health initiatives such as the expansion of the Orange County Medical Clinic.    

The Mayor closed the op-ed by reaffirming his confidence in the work and financial decisions the county has made under his stewardship — ultimately agreeing with the DOGE team’s call for citizen-driven government.

“I’m most proud of the seven task forces and numerous citizen engagement panels we’ve relied upon throughout my administration,” he wrote. “We agree with the DOGE team in that we believe the voices of the people are critical in the decision-making process of government. ... While it may temporarily divert us from the daily business of governance, we have nothing to hide and are proud of our record of serving the residents of Orange County.”