The 98-page report, obtained by the Catalyst, blames wasteful spending on exorbitant salaries, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and \u201cvirtue-signaling about a so-called climate crisis.\u201d DOGE dedicated four pages to highlighting multiple examples of alleged financial misconduct in St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe City of St. Petersburg\u2019s property tax revenues and spending have grown much more rapidly than population and inflation,\u201d the report states. \u201cIn recent years, the city has modestly reduced the millage rate several times, but \u2026 focused its attention on DEI programs and policies, rather than on spending restraint.<\/p>\n
\u201cFlorida DOGE\u2019s site visits identified the City of St. Petersburg as having some of the most egregious examples of wrongful DEI among the locations visited \u2013 and elected officials have publicly defended these programs.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A graphic from the report highlighting property tax revenue increases in Florida\u2019s largest cities over eight years.<\/p>\n
Ingoglia, despite his disdain for bureaucracy, oversees<\/a> DOGE, his self-created Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight, or FAFO, which has an explicit colloquial meaning, several divisions under the Department of Financial Services and is also the state\u2019s fire marshal.<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s appointee frequently noted Wednesday<\/a> that DOGE and FAFO were separate entities. However, those combined efforts, which culminate in a push to \u201caggressively\u201d reduce or eliminate property taxes<\/a>, intertwine throughout the report.<\/p>\n DOGE touted its \u201cdata-driven methodologies to evaluate\u201d how local governments spend taxpayer dollars. Agency reviews \u201crely on public records analysis, individual and statewide data requests, on-site valuations and advanced technologies, including AI.\u201d<\/p>\n St. Petersburg had a general fund budget of $393.6 million and 3,452 city employees in fiscal year 2024-25, according to the report. It states that while the city\u2019s population has increased by 1% since 2016, property tax<\/a> revenues more than doubled, and general fund<\/a> spending jumped by 66% during that period.<\/p>\n DOGE highlighted four \u201cexcessive spending\u201d and 13 DEI-related examples of financial misconduct. The first category cites an unknown amount of \u201ccity funds spent to implement carbon reduction and electric vehicle promotion experts, following $307,000 spent on a sustainability action plan.\u201d<\/p>\n However, former Mayor Rick Kriseman\u2019s administration used $292,498 in BP settlement proceeds stemming from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to fund the city. The remaining $14,801 came from general fund expenditures in fiscal years 2017 through 2019.<\/p>\n Another example of excessive spending is \u201ctens of thousands of dollars spent on small-dollar grants to organizations, many with extreme ideological missions to promote DEI objectives or other inappropriate missions.\u201d<\/p>\n The Mayor\u2019s Office has received $1.1 million in salary increases since 2019, with two staff members earning raises totalling over 60%, according to the report. \u201cLooking at the 10 largest cities in Florida, only in two (Miami and St. Petersburg) did the number of non-public safety staff increase substantially faster than the rate of population growth.\u201d<\/p>\n St. Petersburg hired 355 new employees, a 10% increase, between 2019 and 2025. Ingoglia said Wednesday that all but 65 were \u201cabsolutely nothing but bureaucrats and administrative personnel.\u201d<\/p>\n The report\u2019s DEI examples of misappropriations include a $219,000 salary for a chief equity officer, $87,000 for an LGBTQ coordinator, $102,000 for a cultural affairs director and $123,000 for a community justice liaison. Welch\u2019s administration rebranded the Office of Equity to the Office of Community Impact in September 2025.<\/p>\n DOGE admonished the city for paying $949,000 to nine employees within the Office of Supplier Diversity, now known as the Office of Supplier Development, last year. The report also highlights an \u201cunlawful race, ethnicity and gender-based hiring targets for 80% of city positions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese targets exist despite having 43% minority staff in the ranks of city workers, exceeding the minority share of the city population,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n
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