Overview
- Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia says his office’s audit found Palm Beach County exceeded a benchmark by $344 million, the largest single figure cited in his statewide reviews this year.
- His team used fiscal year 2019–2020 as a baseline indexed for inflation and population growth, a method also used to claim roughly $1.9 billion in excess spending across 11 jurisdictions.
- County Administrator Joseph Abruzzo formally asked for the underlying calculations and specific expenditures, arguing consumer inflation understates government cost pressures and skews the result.
- Palm Beach County points to two recent millage cuts that returned about $284.8 million to taxpayers and says much of the revenue growth funded mandated costs, including the Sheriff’s Office.
- Ingoglia says detailed line‑item reports will be released later, estimates the cited cuts could save the average homeowner about $300 annually, and continues pressing for a 2026 spending‑limit ballot measure.