{"id":295626,"date":"2026-06-04T10:11:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T10:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/295626\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T10:11:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T10:11:13","slug":"florida-cfo-says-local-governments-are-bloated-as-property-tax-cut-heads-to-voters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/295626\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida CFO says local governments are ‘bloated’ as property tax cut heads to voters"},"content":{"rendered":"

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Florida voters are now one step closer to deciding whether to roll back homestead property taxes<\/a>, setting up a statewide debate over tax relief, local government spending and the future of public services.<\/p>\n

This week, state lawmakers approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would put major property tax relief on the November ballot.<\/p>\n

Supporters say the measure would provide overdue help for homeowners squeezed by rising tax bills. Local governments warn it could force difficult budget decisions and potential cuts.<\/p>\n

In a CBS12 News exclusive, Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia<\/a> said local governments are not broke \u2014 they are bloated. \u201cSpending has gone out of control on the local level,\u201d Ingoglia said. \u201cCities and counties are just taking the money and are expanding government.\u201d The proposal is backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Ingoglia, who has been pushing local governments to reduce spending as property values rise.<\/p>\n

Ingoglia argues Florida\u2019s affordability crisis is being made worse by local governments collecting more money from rising property values and then spending it. \u201cGovernment should never grow faster than inflation and population,\u201d Ingoglia said. \u201cBecause if it does, you are outstripping and outpacing the ability of the taxpayer to pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

See also: Florida Attorney general says Tradition HOA will no longer enforce firearm ban <\/a><\/p>\n

But Palm Beach County\u2019s budget shows the issue is not simple. The county\u2019s latest budget is about $9.6 billion, with property taxes expected to bring in about $1.5 billion. The rest comes from other revenue sources.<\/p>\n

Ingoglia said local governments often focus too heavily on property tax revenue when warning about potential cuts. \u201cWhen a local government says that the sky is going to fall, they have other sources of revenue,\u201d Ingoglia said. \u201cThey have commercial projects, they have sales tax, they have gas tax, they have communication tax.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Ingoglia says government has grown too large and expensive, Palm Beach County\u2019s budget numbers show staffing has grown by about 5% since 2008, while the population has grown nearly 20%. What has increased is the cost of operating government. Public safety costs have surged. The sheriff\u2019s office alone saw a major increase this year, roughly $122 million. County leaders also point to rising costs for salaries, health care, pensions, infrastructure and growth itself, with Palm Beach County adding more than 250,000 residents since 2008.<\/p>\n

Ingoglia said the concern is not just one line item. \u201cGovernment is saying, show me the line by line, and what is exactly what you think is excessive,\u201d Ingoglia said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m saying it\u2019s the whole budget. It\u2019s the growth in the whole budget itself.\u201d That is at the heart of the fight. Local officials say they can only cut so much before services are affected. Ingoglia argues those warnings are overstated. \u201cLocal governments continue to tell us that they\u2019re worried about the most basic of services, fire, police and public schools,\u201d Ingoglia said. \u201cNo, what they\u2019re concerned about is actually having to be good stewards of the taxpayer dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

The potential impact could be significant. Palm Beach County could lose an estimated $187 million in the first year and $332 million the following year if the rollback is approved. When asked who voters should believe \u2014 state leaders promising tax relief or local officials warning about service cuts \u2014 Ingoglia said voters should start with their own bills. \u201cBelieve your tax bill,\u201d Ingoglia said. \u201cJust look at your tax bill and ask yourself the fundamental question.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposed constitutional amendment would need 60% voter approval to pass. While CBS12\u2019s Waste Watch report focused on Palm Beach County, the issue would affect every county and city across Florida. The question now is whether voters see the proposal as long-overdue tax relief or a risk to the local services they rely on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Florida voters are now one step closer to deciding whether to roll…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-295626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}