Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the Florida DOGE task force in February. [Photo courtesy Governor’s Office]

OKEECHOBEE -- On Feb. 24 Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the state of Florida would create its own Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) task force with the goal of eliminating waste within state government and saving taxpayers money.

“It will eliminate redundant boards and commissions, review state university and college operations and spending, utilize artificial intelligence to further examine state agencies to uncover hidden waste, and even audit the spending habits of local entities to shine the light on waste and bloat,” said Governor DeSantis in his Feb. 24 announcement of Florida’s DOGE.

Florida’s DOGE task force was inspired by the federal agency of the same name created by President Trump and Elon Musk in January, which cut large amounts of funding from federal agencies, claiming it was removing government waste.

The Florida DOGE task force has announced audits of Orange County, Manatee County, the cities of Jacksonville and St. Petersburg, and Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. County administrators in Okeechobee and Hendry say they have received requests of information from the Florida DOGE task force and have complied with them.

Lake Okeechobee News is seeking the content of those requests and will share them once they are available.

At a press conference in Orange County, State Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia said auditors would be looking at personnel costs and contracts signed by county officials and comparing the cost of services among cities and counties across the state.

“We’ve seen a rise in property values with a corresponding rise in property taxes,” said Ingoglia. “We do not think it is right that taxpayers get to foot the bill for government excesses.”

Over the last few months Governor DeSantis has pushed for an elimination of property taxes. He has proposed a ballot amendment in 2026 to give Florida voters the choice to get rid of taxes on homestead properties altogether, referring to homeowners paying property taxes essentially being forced to “pay rent to the government”.

The Florida GOP announced a campaign calling on local governments in the state to adopt the rollback rate and to provide immediate property tax relief.

“Since 2019, property taxes in Florida have skyrocketed, with some counties facing increases nearing 60%,” said Florida GOP chairman Evan Power. “These sharp hikes are putting intense financial pressure on Floridians—especially retirees and fixed-income households—who are now being priced out of homes they’ve lived in for decades.”

The Okeechobee County government appeared to push back against the elimination of property taxes by publishing a series of videos on social media explaining what services property taxes pay for. A post published on the county’s Facebook page on July 14 explained that property taxes fund important services in the county, including public safety, infrastructure, and parks.

Okeechobee County Commissioners set the tentative millage rate for county property taxes for the new fiscal year at 7.8 mills at their July 24 meeting.  The rollback rate requested by the state GOP would’ve been at 7.4 mills.  County Commissioners have the option of lowering the millage rate at their Sept. 11 meeting.