City Council Asks Governor DeSantis to Review Spending, Critics Say It Smells of Politics
The Jacksonville City Council plans to extend an invitation to Governor Ron DeSantis.
Florida DOGE
To scrutinize the city’s expenditures related to inefficiency and excess, an initiative sponsored by Terrance Freeman stated as “adding another level of transparency.” However, critics argued this measure was overly politicized, describing it as having a strong odor of political maneuvering.
The City Council approved Freeman’s resolution with a vote of 13 to 5.
2025-259
It will be sent to DeSantis on May 13, placing it alongside examinations initiated by other local administrations statewide who have also requested Florida DOGE to review their expenditures.
Freeman said an outside review is “simple common sense.” He said it will give council members a different perspective on how the city is spending taxpayer dollars, and the final decision still rests with council as it goes through the budget-setting process.
They fall into our hands directly,” he stated. “We have discussions, engage in debates, and decide whether we wish to proceed or not.
Council members Jimmy Peluso and Rahman Johnson, who opposed the resolution, said council is outsourcing its financial oversight to a state-level review that has far less knowledge about city government than local elected leaders and the City Council Auditor’s Office.
“What we’re seeing here is merely an attempt to further politicize the city in a manner that I find utterly repulsive,” Peluso stated.
He said DeSantis and the state Legislature are at loggerheads on next year’s state budget.
“We’re seeing chaos in Tallahassee,” he said. “We don’t even have a (state) budget yet, and yet we’re gong to ask them for help?”
Johnson said there’s no need to look outside Jacksonville for a budget review.
“We’ve been doing government efficiency since 1968 and it’s called the Jacksonville City Council,” he said, referring to when Jacksonville formed a consolidated city-county government.
“We answer to the people,” Johnson told council members. “With this resolution, by us putting it out there, it says you don’t even trust yourselves.”
Freeman mentioned that the state review will expand upon the efforts carried out by the City Council Auditor’s Office and the council itself.
Special Committee on Duval DOGE
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“Anybody who thinks that’s bad and then they claim they want to be good stewards for the taxpayers, you my friend are the ones playing politics,” he said.
He said Florida DOGE review won’t cost the city because it will be examining information the city already has on hand.
DeSantis says DOGE will ‘highlight wastefulness and excess’
When DeSantis launched the Florida DOGE program, he stated that it would review expenditures within state agencies, universities, and local governments. He mentioned that this effort would utilize readily accessible public records from counties and cities to highlight inefficiency and excess.
DeSantis is a Republican. Jacksonville voters in 2023 elected a Republican-controlled city council and Donna Deegan, a Democrat, as mayor. Deegan will be presenting her proposed 2025-26 budget in July and council will then have a series of summer budget meetings.
DOGE at the state and city level takes its name from the controversial
Department of Government Efficiency
supervised by Elon Musk during President Donald Trump’s term.
Joining Freeman in support of his resolution were Randy White, Kevin Carrico, Ken Amaro, Raul Arias, Michael Boylan, Joe Carlucci, Rory Diamond, Nick Howland, Mike Gay, Will Lahnen, Chris Miller and Ron Salem.
Voting against it were four Democrats on City Council — Peluso, Johnson, Tyrona Clark-Murray, and Ju’Coby Pittman — and Matt Carlucci, who is a Republican. Council member Reggie Gaffney Jr., a Democrat, was not present for the vote.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union:
City Council invites spending review by Gov. DeSantis that critic says ‘reeks of politics’
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