When former state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia began a speaking tour across Florida accusing county and city officials of widespread waste and misuse of taxpayer funds, many expected him to provide sensational evidence of overspending.
That never happened. Instead, the man appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis as Florida’s chief financial officer came up with a wacky formula that never really made sense. Ingoria claims to have calculated how spending grew year-over-year, adjusting for inflation, population growth and some other nebulous factors that he never really defined. Any increase in spending after that (Ingolia calculated it was close to $200 million in Orange County alone) was simply deemed “wasteful, excessive spending.” Never mind the coronavirus. Or a hurricane. Or the cost of many goods and services has increased significantly but is not reflected in the inflation rate.
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That’s scary math coming from a guy who’s supposed to be keeping Florida State’s books in order. There’s a purpose: Ingolia is a preview of a plan state leaders are developing to put a deep property tax cut on the November 2026 ballot.
Things went pretty much according to the script. Last week, as Florida House members debated a proposed constitutional amendment that would eliminate non-school property taxes on homesteads, Ingolia’s false numbers came up frequently. This is by design. Because lawmakers know that if they start discussing what can actually be cut from local budgets, the details could wake Floridians.
But we’re under no obligation to go along with this clever little scheme, which is designed to make Florida lawmakers look tough on taxes without hurting the state’s share. We read statements from budget experts, took a closer look at local budgets, and reviewed which programs and services ended up on the chopping block during previous periods of budget shortfalls. The list may surprise voters. This will make a lot of them unhappy.
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A few notes before we begin. First, no one knows what the final plan will look like. The House version is extreme – immediately eliminating the non-school property tax, which is expected to cost local governments $18.3 billion in the first year it takes effect. But the Senate has yet to introduce its own proposal. DeSantis clearly wants to have a say in what happens.
However, this debate has been determined by several major factors. The final version appears likely to include language prohibiting cities and counties from cutting budgets for police, fire and other emergency services, which typically account for about half of local government budgets. Counties already incur a variety of costs that cannot be avoided, including significant costs for court and jail operations and mandatory payments to Medicaid and other state functions.
This narrows the basis for cuts.
As we said in yesterday’s editorial, we suspect many city and county officials will first spend their reserves — money set aside as local government “rainy day” funds.
Then the pain will start. Libraries, entertainment venues and parks may be targets. At the same time, local governments may begin to reduce support for the most vulnerable Floridians, including veterans assistance, medical clinics and homeless shelters. (Not all counties or cities provide these services directly, but many of them fund community programs that provide these services.)
Maybe these services won’t disappear all of a sudden. Maybe they’ll change things up a bit: the library opens later and closes earlier. Fewer and fewer books are available through digital systems. Budget cuts for community celebrations like Fourth of July fireworks. The number of city-sponsored sports leagues decreased.
Next up: Most people think government services are vital. Again, the reductions are expected to be gradual: code enforcement and health inspectors will take longer to respond to violations complaints. Permits for home renovations and new construction can take longer and cost more. County animal shelters will almost certainly be forced to increase the number of healthy animals that are euthanized before being adopted.
The biggest hits are likely to come in areas where local government is already struggling. It’s often easiest to cut expensive infrastructure projects — widening roads, making sure water lines don’t leak, upgrading systems to manage stormwater and prevent flooding. These spending gaps often take years to show up.
Of course, those bills will eventually come due.
There are certainly other arguments against massive, indiscriminate tax cuts. Cutting taxes on homeowners will result in higher bills for businesses and residential tenants. Any proposal under consideration would significantly increase inequality in Florida’s unbalanced tax platform. In the long run, everyone in the state will bounce back, including those expected to benefit.
But local officials need to be prepared to show the true cost of these cuts—to prove to homeowners that they’re not just giving themselves free money. Floridians deserve to know how their money is being spent and how their daily lives may be affected if local governments lack revenue. It’s going to be an uphill battle — which is why it’s important to start resisting the budget fiction used to support this effort now.
The Orlando Sentinel editorial board consists of opinion editor Krys Fluker, executive editor Roger Simmons and opinion editor Jay Reddick. Please contact us at Insight@orlandosentinel.com.
