CFO Blaise Ingoglia continues to slam local government budgets, with St. Lucie County being the latest target.
As he has in many other places, the Spring Hill Republican hammered St. Lucie officials for what he dubbed excessive spending in recent years.
Calling himself a “lobbyist on behalf of the taxpayers,” Ingoglia said even accounting for population growth, local budgets since the benchmark of Fiscal Year 2019-20 have contained more than $46 million in overspending.
He argued the government should have given the money back to taxpayers, and said even if millage is held the same or reduced, the net result is a property tax increase if values appreciate.
The St. Lucie County general fund budget has increased by more than 76% over the last six years, Ingoglia said, fueling a “massive expansion of government.” The budget is up from $162 million six years ago to $285 million.
Ingoglia argued that population density increasing in a “growing county” like St. Lucie should decrease per-capita costs for services, as government “finds more efficiencies.”
With 72,000 new residents, the government hired 212 new employees, with only 22 of them being Sheriff’s deputies.
“They’re adding legacy costs to the budget,” he said.
He advocated for a 1 mill cut to property taxes.
As he has in other markets, the CFO tied his local message to a state push to deliver a “larger homestead exemption, if not get rid of property taxes altogether.” That’s an endorsement of the Governor’s still undefined proposal to provide relief to primary homeowners.
Ingoglia’s statement here is especially notable because DeSantis hasn’t floated expanding the homestead exemption yet in months of workshopping the concept.
Ingoglia said his preference is to eliminate homestead taxes.