Florida Democrats have been waging war against property tax relief for months.
They've fought every attempt to give taxpayers a break.
And Nikki Fried made one nasty accusation that exposed her true colors.
CFO Ingoglia Takes Aim At Wasteful Local Government Spending
Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia announced a legislative package Thursday that would make his Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight a permanent watchdog over local government spending.
The FAFO audits have identified $1.86 billion in wasteful spending across just 11 local governments in a single year.¹
Ingoglia's proposals would require cities and counties to post searchable budgets online, salaries and contracts in public databases, and conduct annual self-audits identifying where they could cut 10% of spending.
Local governments that don't comply would face penalties ranging from withheld state funds to potential removal of officials who commit "financial abuse, malfeasance or misfeasance."²
"Protecting taxpayers should not have an expiration date, and neither should FAFO," Ingoglia declared at a Winter Park press conference.³
https://twitter.com/GovGoneWild/status/2001626719665484177?s=20
The legislation also bans awarding government contracts based on diversity, equity and inclusion criteria.
"Contracts should be doled out on price and merit and stop with this crap of giving it to people just based upon DEI principles," Ingoglia explained.⁴
State Representatives Monique Miller and Yvette Benarroch stood alongside Ingoglia backing the reforms.
Miller called tax dollars "like a drug for local governments" and declared "those that treat taxpayers like an ATM, those days are over."⁵
The proposals build directly on FAFO's findings that local budgets have exploded beyond population growth and inflation while governments simultaneously claim they need more money.
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/2001687831547130140?s=20
Nikki Fried Rushes To Defend The Spending
That's when Florida Democrat Party Chair Nikki Fried showed up to run interference.
Fried held a Zoom press conference attacking Ingoglia's legislation with the same tired talking points Democrats always use when someone tries to cut government spending.
"I have heard zero from our new CFO about what he plans on doing to hold our property insurance companies accountable," Fried complained. "Instead, he's bullying our local governments, creating fictitious formulas."⁶
Notice what she did there.
Fried ignored the $1.86 billion in documented wasteful spending and instead accused Ingoglia of "bullying" local governments for daring to audit how they spend taxpayer money.
She focused specifically on the provision allowing removal of officials who commit financial abuse.
"Ron DeSantis has abused that power throughout his eight years in this administration," Fried claimed. "And so this is just them bullying our local governments that are the ones who are the closest to the people."⁷
Democrats call everything "bullying" when someone tries to hold government accountable.
Fried even suggested Ingoglia should instead investigate the DeSantis administration's spending on ads opposing marijuana and abortion ballot measures last year.
That's rich coming from someone who never met a government program she didn't want to expand.
https://twitter.com/ThisThatOther2/status/2002001974707769447?s=20
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings backed Fried's opposition claiming "Orange County is not overspending."⁸
But FAFO identified $190 million in excessive spending in Orange County alone.⁹
These local officials don't want accountability because accountability threatens their gravy train.
Ingoglia Fires Back At Critics
Ingoglia spent considerable time during his announcement ridiculing what he called "leftist big-budget apologists" who've questioned his team's methodology.¹⁰
Palm Beach County Administrator Joe Abruzzo called FAFO's findings "fictitious" after auditors identified $344 million in wasteful spending there.¹¹
Multiple county officials have questioned the accuracy of Ingoglia's calculations.
But Ingoglia isn't backing down.
He promised detailed line-item audits are coming that will prove exactly where the waste exists.
"Whether it is a city, a county, a taxing jurisdiction, a school board, a board that has its own millage rate, its own taxing authority, that will not escape my grasp over the next nine years," Ingoglia vowed.¹²
The legislation also requires local governments to undergo a FAFO audit before putting any tax increase on the ballot.
https://twitter.com/GovGoneWild/status/2001394318339117386?s=20
That means voters will see exactly how much money their local government is wasting before being asked to approve higher taxes.
Ingoglia said Governor DeSantis supports the initiative and Senate sponsors are already lined up for when the Legislature convenes in January.
Nikki Fried's attack on these reforms tells you everything you need to know about where Democrats' priorities lie.
They're not worried about protecting taxpayers from wasteful government spending.
They're worried about protecting the local government officials who funnel taxpayer money to Democrat causes.
Fried calling accountability "bullying" is peak Democrat Party nonsense.
Property taxes have increased nearly 50% over the last five years in Florida while local governments claim they need even more money for "essential services."¹³
FAFO proved that's garbage.
Local governments are sitting on massive cash reserves while crying poverty and lobbying against tax relief.
Ingoglia's legislation would force them to justify every dollar they spend before asking taxpayers for more.
That's not bullying.
That's common sense.
And Nikki Fried opposing it just proved whose side she's really on.
¹ Frank Kopylov, "Ingoglia pushes legislation to boost local government transparency," Florida News, December 18, 2025.
² Jason Delgado, "Ingoglia proposes bills that he says will make local government more accountable," Spectrum News, December 18, 2025.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Kopylov, "Ingoglia pushes legislation."
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Mitch Perry, "Nikki Fried slams proposal to allow the state to remove locally elected officials," Florida Phoenix, December 18, 2025.
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ Q McCray, "Florida CFO wants local governments to show you the money," WFTV, December 18, 2025.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Perry, "Nikki Fried slams proposal."
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² Ibid.
¹³ Delgado, "Ingoglia proposes bills."
