Confronting them was a group of local residents in front of City Hall who declared they didn’t trust what the DeSantis administration says is the motivation for looking into local government spending.
Mimicking the federal initiative led by Elon Musk in the first months of the second Trump administration, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis introduced Florida’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) earlier this year, describing it as an effort to eliminate waste within state government, save taxpayers money, and ensure accountability.
But it’s been turbocharged into a higher gear, looking at municipal and county government spending, ever since DeSantis appointed former GOP state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia as chief financial officer last month.
“Look, all of this is … because property taxes have been skyrocketing here in the state of Florida,” Ingoglia told reporters inside St. Petersburg City Hall on Wednesday.
But the critics who stood outside in the blazing heat earlier said they weren’t buying it.
“They have no business messing around with our city government,” said St. Pete resident Diane Willis. “They don’t even run our own state government well. I mean, the governor talked about transparency and accountability was the reason for DOGE.
“He should look in his own backyard,” she continued, explicitly naming Hope Florida, the community-based welfare program initiated by First Lady Casey DeSantis that came under fire earlier this year and whose foundation is reportedly being investigated by state prosecutors.
“I think it’s a lie,” added Seminole resident Mary McMullen, who grew up in St. Petersburg, about the stated mission of DOGE to eliminate waste in government spending. “That’s not why they’re here.”
DEI
“Their letter talked about DEI,” McMullen said. “It talked about whether we have electric vehicles. It talked about the environment and that we are having the nerve to get involved in anything that might speak about problems with the environment. So, if they were here for what they say they were here for I’m fine, but that’s not it.”
McMullen was referencing the nine-page letter sent by Florida DOGE to St. Petersburg officials on Aug. 1, which made numerous references to DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) policies adopted in the city in recent years. Auditors also said that they wanted information about policies regarding resiliency and battling climate change, as well as specific purchases or leases of electric vehicles.
That’s a problem, as far as City Council member Brandi Gabbard is concerned.
“Surprisingly and upsettingly, there’s also a lot of questions regarding our resilience work and sustainability work. And we live in a coastal community where we’re incredibly vulnerable. And so to think that those sorts of initiatives could potentially be opposed by our state, to me really doesn’t look like moving forward in a cohesive way to protect the residents that we serve,” she told the Phoenix while walking out of City Hall to observe the protest on Wednesday.
In January 2019, St. Petersburg was selected to participate in the American Cities Climate Challenge, an initiative backed by Bloomberg Philanthropies to tackle climate change and promote a sustainable future. Florida DOGE is now requesting records of “all actions, communications and expenditures to date in support” of that program.
Like most locally elected officials who have been interviewed by the news reporters ahead of planned DOGE visits, Gabbard said she welcomed state officials scrutinizing the city budget, because she believes the council and Welch have been “good stewards” of the public’s money.
“I would push back on any claim that there’s any waste within those tax dollars,” she said. “As far as any savings to be found, if there’s an opportunity to save a single penny that is a taxpayer dollar, we certainly want to look at that, but we are very confident in what we spend our tax dollars on and that is to get the best service that we possibly can for the city of St Petersburg.”
‘A long-term thing’
Florida DOGE’s two-day audit of St. Petersburg’s budget comes two days after a similar inquiry began across the bay with the Hillsborough County Commission. There, Ingoglia promised that this month’s inquiries were not a one-and-done situation.
“We have a lot of work to do with the counties. We have a lot of work to do with the cities. But what I can tell you is that I’m not going away,” he said on Monday. “Cities and counties should not be mistaken that this is a short-term thing. This is a long-term thing.”
During a Tampa press conference, DeSantis appeared surprised when asked about the planned protest against DOGE in St. Petersburg.
“What are they protesting?” he asked of the photojournalist who posed the question.
“They don’t like DOGE,” the journalist responded.
The governor replied by talking about the rise in property taxes, as he and Ingoglia have been campaigning for a 2026 constitutional amendment that would ask voters to limit taxes on homestead properties. Such an initiative would have to be approved by the Legislature early next year, and there are no specific details about what it would entail at this time.
“The question is, you’ve seen a lot of bloated budgets,” DeSantis said. “Where is that money going to? And they’ll say that it’s for things that we all agree on. Education. Public safety. First responders. But I can tell you, there’s a lot of stuff beyond that that some of these governments are spending these tax dollars on.”
“Do you need to be spending $3 million on DEI consultants?” he said, perhaps in reference to St. Petersburg’s budget. “Would you rather them spending it on that, or would you rather have property tax cuts?”
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.
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This article appears in Aug 7-13, 2025.