Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia said, “As we continue to call out wasteful spending across the state, Palm Beach County has dethroned Miami Dade with the amount of taxpayer dollars they are wastefully spending this year alone. These numbers keep surprising me, and it is astonishing to see big government bureaucrats take advantage of their residents’ tax dollars. As CFO, it is my mission to provide transparency into the local budget to Floridians so they can hold their officials accountable, and we will continue to make our way throughout the state.”
Frank Coppola, Palm Beach County resident and business owner, said, “Local governments continue to raise taxes year over year, which negatively impacts construction companies like mine. Taxpayers are demanding transparency and accountability in how our tax dollars are used to hold the government accountable. Thank you, CFO Ingoglia, for bringing awareness to this issue and exposing the county’s excessive spending.”
Since Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-2020, Palm Beach County’s budget has grown by $878,660,779, which represents a growth of 58.78%, while its population has grown by 88,162 since FY 2019-2020. For every new resident who moved to Palm Beach County, the budget increased by $9,966. The budget increases for a family of four by $39,864.
Palm Beach County has the opportunity to reduce its millage rate by 0.55 without impacting essential services provided to residents. With this applied reduction, taxpayers could save:
- A taxable home value of $600,000 could save $331 per year
- A taxable home value of $700,000 could save $386 per year
- A taxable home value of $800,000 could save $441 per year
CFO Ingoglia has revealed over $1.8 billion in excessive, wasteful spending in the General Fund Budget for FY 2024-2025 across eleven local governments. CFO Ingoglia plans to continue to expose excessive, wasteful spending across the state as part of his role as Chief Financial Officer of Florida.
