Gov. Ron DeSantis Credit: Photo via Ron DeSantis/X

Hillsborough County opened applications on Friday for its new DOGE Liaison Committee to work with the state in examining its operational efficiency.

Gov. Ron Desantis created Florida’s “EOG DOGE” team via executive order last month, according to WFTV, adding that the team “sent letters to local governments asking them to disclose information about their financial health.”

The effort is modeled after the office created by President Donald Trump and headed by Elon Musk—now known for slashing government jobs around the country, and then having to walk back its actions.

Now Hillsborough County wants citizens to help with Florida’s DOGE copycat.

“This committee serves as an advisory role to the Board and County Administrator in its participation with the EOG DOGE Team,” Hillsborough’s application page says.

The county approved the formation of the committee last Wednesday, looking for a group of business and financial operations experts to advise the Board and County Administrator in collaborating with the state DOGE office.

Commissioner Harry Cohen, a Democrat, was the only member to vote against it.

“I think there already is a DOGE committee, and it’s called the Board of County Commissioners,” he said during the vote. “We are the ones that make the spending decisions, and in the past, this board has not had any difficulty voting on and making decisions on spending allocations.”

Pinellas County also had a sole Commissioner vote against its DOGE collaboration. Commissioner René Flowers, the Board’s only Democrat, failed to block its resolution “memorializing the process” of the state’s DOGE efforts. Commission Chair Brian Scott will send a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis to initiate a budget and operations review.

Hillsborough’s DOGE Liaison committee will meet monthly and provide written updates for up to a year if Gov. Ron DeSantis’ DOGE team agrees to work together. The committee can extend its conclusion of its work with approval via a majority vote of the Board.

Five unpaid positions are open for candidates with at least one of the following professional credentials listed by the county: accountant, economist, finance, certified auditor, IT and human resources.

Candidates must live and be registered to vote in Hillsborough County, and cannot serve on another county board unless approved by the Board of County Commissioners. Applications close May 2. Selections will be voted on by the County Commission, which is weighted 5-2 in Republicans’ favor.

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Hillsborough wants unpaid volunteers on its DOGE Liaison Committee