Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan thought she could waste taxpayer money without anyone noticing.
Governor Ron DeSantis had other plans.
And Ron DeSantis used one strategy to expose Donna Deegan that left Democrats running for cover.
Florida DOGE exposes nearly $1 billion in local government waste
Governor Ron DeSantis and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia launched Florida’s version of the Department of Government Efficiency – or DOGE – to hunt down wasteful spending in local governments across the state.
What they found will make your blood boil.
After auditing just five counties – Jacksonville’s Duval County, Orange, Hillsborough, Alachua, and Broward – Florida DOGE uncovered nearly $1 billion in wasteful and excessive spending.
That’s $1 billion that hardworking Floridians are being forced to fork over in property taxes to fund everything from drag shows to diversity training.
"With just those five counties, we are almost $1 billion worth of the citizens of the state of Florida being overtaxed," Ingoglia announced during a press conference at Jacksonville International Airport.
The audits revealed a pattern of reckless spending that spans the political spectrum but hits Democrat-run cities particularly hard.
Jacksonville alone accounted for $199 million in wasteful spending – money that could have gone to law enforcement raises, road repairs, or back into taxpayers’ pockets.
But DeSantis and Ingoglia weren’t content to just release dry numbers.
They brought the perfect visual aid to make their point.
DeSantis turns Deegan’s own waste against her
Standing next to a $75,000 hologram of Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan at the airport, DeSantis delivered a masterclass in political theater.
The hologram – which Ingoglia dubbed "Holo-Donna" – became the perfect symbol of everything wrong with local government spending priorities.
"There she is, Mrs. Donna Deegan," Ingoglia said, pointing at the digital display. "It’s kind of funny because Donna Deegan, Mayor Deegan, said that this was not an example of wasteful spending."
The CFO didn’t hold back his contempt for the tone-deaf purchase.
"This is just a stark example of tone deafness. This is $75,000 of waste, fraud and abuse. This is $75,000 that could have gone out to law-enforcement raises, could have helped repave roads," Ingoglia explained.
To drive the point home, Ingoglia created a new logo for Deegan’s administration: "TSA: Taxes Squandered Again."
But the real moment came when Ingoglia delivered a poetry reading that perfectly captured the frustration of Jacksonville taxpayers.
"Donna waves the ribbon. The budget takes flight. Millions are scattered, gone overnight, a city still waiting for roads to be mended, but checks keep on flowing. Quite never ended," he recited. "The people keep asking, ‘where does it go? The coffers run empty, yet taxes still grow.’"
The second poem was even more direct: "Roses are red, violets are blue, our property taxes are high because of you."
DeSantis uses Deegan’s own wasteful spending as the perfect political weapon
When confronted with the evidence of wasteful spending, Deegan tried to defend her record by claiming her administration was focused on "efficiency" and couldn’t cut a single dollar.
That’s when Ingoglia delivered the knockout punch that perfectly captured DeSantis’s strategy.
"I’m sorry, Donna Deegan, you’re saying that you can’t cut, you need every dollar. The taxpayers disagree with you," Ingoglia declared.
Those words – "The taxpayers disagree with you" – cut through all of Deegan’s political spin and bureaucratic doublespeak.
No complicated policy explanations needed.
No academic theories about government efficiency.
Just a simple statement of fact: Florida taxpayers disagree with wasting their money on holograms while they struggle to pay their property tax bills.
DeSantis orchestrated this entire presentation to maximum political effect, letting Ingoglia deliver the direct confrontation while standing next to the visual proof of Deegan’s wasteful spending.
The Governor’s team has been touring the state with this message, and it’s resonating with voters who are tired of seeing their tax dollars disappear into vanity projects and woke programs.
"They can offer property tax relief. They’re choosing not to," Ingoglia stated bluntly, delivering DeSantis’s core message about local government priorities.
Democrats resort to predictable damage control
Faced with overwhelming evidence of wasteful spending, Deegan did what Democrats always do – she claimed the criticism was "partisan" and tried to change the subject.
"Instead of being distracted by the constant partisan attacks on local governments, our administration will continue the work to make housing, healthcare, and food costs more affordable for our citizens," Deegan said in a statement.
Notice what she didn’t say – that she would stop wasting taxpayer money.
Instead, she defended the $75,000 hologram as promoting Jacksonville "as a tourist and technology hub" and claimed it represented only "0.0000375% of the city budget."
That’s the kind of math that infuriates taxpayers.
Sure, $75,000 might be a small percentage of a multi-billion dollar budget, but it’s real money that comes out of real people’s paychecks.
And when you add up all these "small percentages" – the $7.5 million sidewalk project, the $1.9 million in grants to DEI-focused art groups, and countless other examples – you get $199 million in waste.
Multiply that across every city and county in Florida, and DeSantis and Ingoglia estimate the total waste could reach "tens of billions of dollars."
The path to real property tax relief
DeSantis isn’t just complaining about the problem – he’s working on a solution.
The Governor is preparing a constitutional amendment for the 2026 ballot that would eliminate property taxes on homesteaded properties entirely.
"We really have to get it passed and on the ballot prior to the primary cycle being done in August," DeSantis explained, noting the measure needs two-thirds support in the legislature and 60% voter approval.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1973434585431286058
The timing is strategic.
DeSantis suggested they could call a special session "right in the middle of the Republican primary season in July or August" to maximize political pressure on lawmakers.
"Imagine that," he said with a grin.
The Florida DOGE audits are building the case that property tax elimination is not only possible but necessary.
By documenting specific examples of waste like Deegan’s hologram, DeSantis is showing voters exactly where their tax money is going – and why they shouldn’t have to pay for it.
As Ingoglia put it, "You could just do that by going back to the 2019-2020 levels of government pre-COVID. It would be easy to do."
For taxpayers struggling with rising property taxes, DeSantis’s strategic use of Deegan’s own wasteful spending represents more than just political theater.
It represents the promise that someone in Tallahassee is finally listening to their concerns and willing to fight the local politicians who keep reaching deeper into their wallets.
¹ Michelle Vecerina, "CFO Ingoglia and DeSantis slam Jacksonville spending amid Mayor Deegan’s efficiency defense," News4JAX, October 1, 2025.
² A.G. Gancarski, "Gov. DeSantis, Blaise Ingoglia spotlight Donna Deegan hologram as example of local waste," Florida Politics, October 1, 2025.
³ Tate Rosenberg, "Mayor Deegan responds to claims of ‘wasteful’ spending from Governor Ron DeSantis," First Coast News, October 1, 2025.
⁴ Ajay Uppaluri, "DeSantis decries Jax spending and calls for tax reform," Jacksonville Today, October 1, 2025.
