By Carl Fish | Daily Ridge News
Florida’s new CFO, Blaise Ingoglia, has charged into his role with full steam, deploying the Governor’s Department of Government Efficiency, also known as D.O.G.E., to demand financial transparency from Broward County and the City of Gainesville. Both were cited for steep increases in tax collections and government spending. Polk County, despite being in Ingoglia’s political backyard, has not seen similar triggers.
In Broward County, property tax collections reportedly rose by $450 million over five years, a nearly 45 percent increase. The county’s operating budget also grew by more than $1.2 billion. The Governor’s letter addressing “Mayor Furr” raised eyebrows. While Beam Furr holds the title of mayor, Broward County does not have an executive mayor in the traditional sense. Instead, the role is ceremonial and rotated among commissioners. The actual administrative authority lies with the county administrator, not the mayor. Still, Furr is the public face of the commission and therefore was the recipient of the state’s formal correspondence.
In Gainesville, the state highlighted an 80 percent increase in property tax collections over four years and a $90 million rise in the city’s annual operating budget. Gainesville has a traditional mayoral structure, and the letter was addressed directly to Mayor Harvey Ward. Both local governments have been given a deadline of July 31 and August 1, when state officials intend to visit and examine operations, records, and systems. Failure to cooperate could result in financial penalties.
In contrast, cities in Polk County do not appear to fit the profile of governments experiencing runaway tax growth. In Lakeland, the millage rate for 2025 was set at 5.4323, unchanged from the previous year and slightly lower than in 2018. Although Lakeland’s overall budget has grown, city commissioners voted not to raise property tax rates and instead maintained a stable rate.
Winter Haven’s current millage rate is 6.5900, and that figure has remained steady for at least three years. Effective property tax rates in the city hover around 1.12 percent, which is only modestly above the national average. Davenport and Haines City, two rapidly growing cities, have experienced increases in overall revenue due to new construction and rising property values, but they have not imposed sharp rate hikes.
Even Polk County itself reduced its county-wide millage rate to 6.6348, a one percent decrease from the prior year. Despite rising property values that naturally generate more revenue, county leaders chose to slightly cut the tax rate while still managing nearly $3 billion in overall spending.
Based on available data, Polk County and its cities have not mirrored the rapid tax hikes or aggressive spending increases that brought Broward and Gainesville under scrutiny. At this time, it does not appear that any Polk municipalities are likely to be the next targets in the D.O.G.E. oversight effort.
