Overview

• Blaise Ingoglia used a Seminole County news conference to allege $48.4 million in excessive spending since 2019–20, rising to about $77 million when factoring in a recent millage increase.
• The GOP-led commission approved a 0.5‑mill property tax hike, its first in 16 years, to close an estimated $35 million shortfall and maintain services such as public safety, libraries, and parks.
• Ingoglia said the finding came from FAFO’s high-level trend analysis rather than a DOGE records review, and he stated there is no current plan for a DOGE audit of Seminole.
• He highlighted a roughly 46% jump in the general fund—about $137 million—since 2019–20 versus population growth of just over 25,000 residents.
• County officials rejected the claim, citing inflation, rising insurance costs, and more than $30 million in unfunded mandates, while critics pressed for line-item evidence as Ingoglia linked the effort to broader property-tax cuts.