Taxpayers in Democrat-run cities are being squeezed dry.
One Florida official decided it was time to fight back.
And Miami officials just got caught red-handed after this one question exposed this ugly truth.
Florida’s Chief Financial Officer exposes Miami’s spending spree
Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia stood in downtown Miami Thursday and dropped a bombshell that had city leaders scrambling for cover.¹
Miami’s budget has exploded by $358 million since 2019 — a staggering 44% increase in just five years — despite adding only about 23,000 new residents.²
That works out to $15,320 in additional spending for every single new resident who moved to Miami.³
For a family of four, that’s the equivalent of $61,000 in increased government spending.
Ingoglia accused Miami of "fiscal irresponsibility" that has placed an unfair "financial burden on the shoulders of the taxpayers."⁴
Ingoglia leads Florida’s version of the Department of Government Efficiency — Florida DOGE — which has been conducting a statewide "Accountability Tour" to expose wasteful spending by local governments.⁵
The tour hit Miami as part of a broader investigation that has already uncovered more than $1.1 billion in alleged wasteful spending across just eight Florida municipalities.⁶
Miami’s numbers stood out even among the other cities Ingoglia has audited.
The CFO determined Miami is spending $94 million more per year than justified by inflation and population growth combined.⁷
That means Miami could cut property taxes by half a mill without touching a single essential service.⁸
Miami added 193 government workers while gaining only 23,000 residents
The numbers tell an ugly story that Miami officials desperately want to hide.
Since 2019, Miami hired 193 additional full-time employees — roughly one new government worker for every 119 new residents.⁹
Ingoglia pointed out that Miami’s current budget sits at roughly $1.2 billion, making it one of the most expensive cities per capita in Florida to run.¹⁰
Miami officials have consistently expanded government while services deteriorate.
This followed the CFO’s pattern of targeting Democrat-run cities and counties across Florida.
Before Miami, Ingoglia exposed massive overspending in Broward County ($189 million), Alachua County ($84 million), and Hillsborough County.¹¹
Each audit followed the same methodology — comparing current budgets to 2019 levels, adjusting for inflation and population growth, then exposing the excess.
The approach strips away excuses local governments typically hide behind when defending budget increases.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, currently running for Miami mayor, admitted taxpayers are "paying for more while getting less in services" due to the city’s "chaos and corruption."¹²
That’s a damning admission from someone inside Miami’s government structure.
Miami officials claim they’re special and shouldn’t have to follow the same rules
City commissioners rushed out a defensive statement dismissing Ingoglia’s analysis as "incomplete."¹³
They argued Miami is too "complex and unique" for normal budget accountability to apply.¹⁴
The commissioners claimed Miami provides services to thousands of people who work in the city but live elsewhere, making traditional comparisons unfair.¹⁵
That’s the same excuse every bloated government uses when caught overspending.
Governor Ron DeSantis created Florida DOGE earlier this year specifically to combat this kind of arrogance from local officials who think rules don’t apply to them.¹⁶
DeSantis has made eliminating property taxes — or at minimum drastically cutting them — a top priority heading into the 2026 legislative session.¹⁷
The Governor plans to put a constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot letting voters decide whether Florida should eliminate homestead property taxes entirely.¹⁸
That would create an $18.5 billion budget hole for counties and municipalities — forcing them to cut spending rather than continuously expanding government.¹⁹
Rachel Moscoco from Americans for Prosperity Florida spoke at Ingoglia’s press conference, noting that "property taxes are making it harder to live, work and thrive in the Sunshine State."²⁰
The audits matter because "informed citizens are empowered citizens," Moscoco added.²¹
Democrats reveal their true priorities when forced to defend wasteful spending
Florida DOGE has exposed what conservative taxpayers have known for years — Democrat-run cities operate like they’re spending someone else’s money.
Because that’s exactly what they’re doing.
Jacksonville paid $75,000 for a hologram of Mayor Donna Deegan at the airport while the city’s actual residents dealt with deteriorating services.²²
Pensacola spends $150,000 annually to bring drag shows to a public theater and dropped $300,000 on an "equity-focused strategic plan."²³
Gainesville pays its Director of Equity and Inclusion $189,000 per year to push divisive racial politics instead of fixing potholes.²⁴
These aren’t isolated examples — this is the pattern Ingoglia keeps finding in Democrat-controlled cities across Florida.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez tried defending his city’s spending by pointing out he lowered the millage rate "to the lowest level in city history."²⁵
But lowering the rate means nothing when property values have skyrocketed, making the total tax burden higher than ever.
That’s the shell game Democrat politicians play — technically cutting rates while still taking more money from taxpayers’ pockets.
Ingoglia isn’t buying it.
The CFO plans to continue his Accountability Tour through 2025 and into 2026, building public support for the property tax amendment before voters decide its fate.²⁶
If Democrats in Miami and across Florida want to prove they’re not wasting taxpayer dollars, they should welcome these audits instead of fighting them.
Their defensive reactions tell voters everything they need to know.
¹ WLRN, "Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia torches Miami’s ‘wasteful’ spending, calls for property tax relief," October 23, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Florida Phoenix, "Ingoglia says property tax relief can help alleviate the affordability crisis in Florida," September 30, 2025.
⁶ WLRN, "Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia torches Miami’s ‘wasteful’ spending."
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Anita Padilla, "CFO Ingoglia blasts Miami spending, calls for property tax relief on ‘Accountability Tour’," South Florida Sun Sentinel, October 23, 2025.
¹⁰ WLRN, "Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia torches Miami’s ‘wasteful’ spending."
¹¹ Florida Phoenix, "Ingoglia says property tax relief."
¹² WLRN, "Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia torches Miami’s ‘wasteful’ spending."
¹³ Ibid.
¹⁴ Ibid.
¹⁵ Ibid.
¹⁶ Executive Office of the Governor, "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Florida DOGE Efforts," February 2025.
¹⁷ Insurance Journal, "DeSantis Unleashes ‘Florida DOGE’ in Quest to Kill Property Taxes," August 28, 2025.
¹⁸ Ibid.
¹⁹ Florida Politics, "Blaise Ingoglia says Miami exceeds appropriate spending by $94M per year," October 23, 2025.
²⁰ Ibid.
²¹ Ibid.
²² Executive Office of the Governor, "Governor Ron DeSantis and CFO Blaise Ingoglia Highlight Excessive Local Government Spending," 2025.
²³ Ibid.
²⁴ Ibid.
²⁵ Local 10 News, "’Bloated’ budget in Miami? Mayoral candidates respond," October 23, 2025.
²⁶ Florida Politics, "Blaise Ingoglia says Miami exceeds appropriate spending."
