Republicans in Seminole County thought they were safe from the government spending crackdown sweeping Florida.
They were dead wrong.
And Florida’s CFO just dropped one bombshell about Seminole County that has Republicans scrambling for cover.
Ingoglia catches Republicans red-handed in massive spending spree
Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia rolled into Seminole County on Tuesday with guns blazing and Republicans in his crosshairs.
The Spring Hill Republican – who’s leading Governor Ron DeSantis’ statewide crusade against government waste – delivered some brutal news to the all-Republican county commission.
"I said if anyone raised taxes, they would get a knock on their door," Ingoglia declared. "Knock, knock, Seminole County."¹
Ingoglia’s Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight uncovered a staggering $48 million in what he called "excessive and wasteful" spending over the past five years.
But that was just the beginning of the bad news for Seminole County Republicans.
When Ingoglia factored in the county’s recent property tax increase – the first in 16 years – that figure skyrocketed to $77 million in total overspending.
The numbers paint a devastating picture of fiscal irresponsibility that would make even a Democrat blush.
Since 2019, Seminole County’s General Fund budget exploded by 46.7% – a massive $137 million increase that far outpaced both inflation and population growth.²
Meanwhile, the county’s population only grew by about 25,338 people over the same period.
That means for every single person who moved to Seminole County, the budget increased by $5,402.
For every family of four, the budget jumped by $21,608.
"Just because you have more people moving into a county does not mean that you have a blank check," Ingoglia fired back at county officials trying to justify their spending binge.³
Republican commissioners betray their own taxpayers with massive tax hike
Here’s where the story gets really ugly for Seminole County Republicans.
Instead of cutting wasteful spending, these supposed fiscal conservatives voted 4-1 last month to raise property taxes for the first time since 2008.
The commission – made up entirely of Republicans – increased the millage rate from 4.8751 to 5.3751, generating an additional $27 million from already-struggling taxpayers.
"Here in Seminole County, the County Commission didn’t cut your taxes. They actually raised your taxes. They increased the millage rate from 4.8751 to 5.3751 in a time when people are hurting and want property tax reform, they went out and voted to raise your taxes," Ingoglia stated.⁴
The betrayal gets even worse when you look at what other taxes these Republicans piled onto families.
They increased the utilities tax by 10% and hiked gas taxes by 5 cents per gallon – all while sitting on millions in wasteful spending.
Ingoglia proved the tax increases were completely unnecessary by showing the county could have actually cut property taxes by 0.81 mills while still funding all essential services.
That would have saved homeowners with a $400,000 home $324 per year.
Homeowners with a $600,000 property would have saved $485 annually.
Instead, these Republican commissioners chose to pick taxpayers’ pockets rather than clean up their own fiscal house.
Seminole County scrambles with pathetic excuses for spending spree
County officials knew they were caught red-handed and immediately started making excuses that fell flat on their faces.
In a desperate statement, Seminole County tried to blame inflation, rising costs, and "unfunded mandates" for their budget explosion.⁵
But Ingoglia’s team had already accounted for inflation, population growth, and essential services like police and fire departments in their analysis.
The $48 million in overspending came after adjusting for all legitimate cost increases.
County spokesman tried claiming they needed the money for "essential public safety services that residents rely on every day, including the Sheriff’s Office, Fire Rescue, Emergency Management, Animal Services, and Emergency-911."
Ingoglia wasn’t buying their excuses.
"We’re immune to the parlor tricks of local governments who say they need all this money," he shot back in one statement.
In another pointed remark, he added: "Stop lying to the taxpayer."⁶
The CFO pointed out that other counties managed to maintain excellent public safety without blowing their budgets by nearly 50% in just five years.
He specifically noted that when Florida doubled the homestead exemption in the 2000s as property values fell, essential services remained completely untouched.
"Not one fire personnel was let go, not one law enforcement officer was fired," Ingoglia revealed. "They just reprioritized their spending because they had fiscal constraint."⁷
This exposes the ugly truth about Republican spending addiction
Look, this Seminole County scandal proves something conservatives have suspected for years – the spending disease has infected Republicans at every level of government.
"Spending knows no partisan boundaries," Ingoglia admitted. "Republicans and Democrats are spending us into oblivion."⁸
These aren’t liberal Democrats pushing some woke agenda with taxpayer money.
These are five Republicans who campaigned on fiscal responsibility and then turned around to blow nearly $50 million on wasteful spending while raising taxes on working families.
What makes this even more infuriating is the timing.
Think about this for a second – families in Florida can barely afford groceries thanks to Biden’s inflation nightmare.
Housing costs have people wondering if they’ll ever own a home again.
So what do these Republican commissioners do? They pile on more taxes.
You had commissioners sitting on $48 million in wasteful spending who could have delivered real relief to working families.
They had a choice – cut the fat or pick taxpayers’ pockets.
Guess which one they picked.
Ingoglia’s statewide audit has now uncovered more than $1 billion in wasteful spending across six Florida counties.
That’s $1 billion that could have stayed in taxpayers’ pockets instead of funding bloated government bureaucracies.
"Every single level of government is wasting money and spending taxpayers fees obnoxiously," Ingoglia declared.⁹
The CFO promised this is just the beginning of his accountability crusade.
He’s planning to reorganize his office specifically to conduct more forensic audits of local governments across Florida.
"We’re planning on reorganizing our office so we can go and we can do these forensic audits on local government to track everything going forward," Ingoglia announced.¹⁰
For Florida taxpayers who’ve been getting ripped off by both parties, Ingoglia’s crusade represents hope that someone is finally willing to hold all politicians accountable for their fiscal recklessness.
The 2026 referendum on property tax reform can’t come soon enough.
¹ Julia Weinstein, "Florida’s CFO claims Seminole County is overspending by $77 million," WESH 2, October 7, 2025.
² Mitch Perry, "Seminole County has overspent by $48 million over past 5 years, state CFO alleges," Florida Phoenix, October 7, 2025.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Danielle Prieur, "CFO claims Seminole County overspent by $48 million," Central Florida Public Media, October 7, 2025.
⁵ Randi Hildreth and Josh Frigerio, "Florida CFO Ingoglia slams Seminole County for raising property taxes, millions in ‘wasteful’ spending," FOX 35 Orlando, October 7, 2025.
⁶ Drew Dixon, "Blaise Ingoglia hits back at DOGE critics, blasts Seminole County for overtaxing," Florida Politics, October 7, 2025.
⁷ Jacob Ogles, "Blaise Ingoglia is putting the CFO position in the spotlight while putting local governments on blast," Florida Politics, October 7, 2025.
⁸ Anita Padilla, "CFO Ingoglia to reorganize office for local government audits, cites $1B in waste; Seminole County is latest target," Florida News, October 7, 2025.
⁹ Prieur.
¹⁰ Padilla.
