FLAGLER COUNTY — Flagler County commissioners want to clarify continued claims from the state’s chief financial officer that the county’s budget is “wasteful” and “excessive.”
County staff is working on a webpage detailing the county’s spending and most significant financial movements over the last six years — the period in which Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia said its budget was nearly $60 million in excess.
In March 2026, Ingoglia made his argument during a private event at the Club at Hammock Beach, while also calling on the local government to “offer immediate property tax relief to the taxpayers,” while pointing out that the county’s general fund budget has increased by approximately 119% in the last six fiscal years.
Ingoglia’s efforts began amid Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push to eliminate property taxes in Florida. Appointed by DeSantis in July 2025 to replace Jimmy Patronis, Ingoglia is running for the seat in November.
“I believe that we need to get more information out,” said Commissioner Kim Carney, who brought up the matter during the board’s June 1 meeting, calling Ingoglia’s analysis a “campaign crutch.”
“And I don’t like it,” Carney said. “It’s not going to go away before the election. He is going to pound on this, and try to get credit on this, up through the election.”
What do Flagler commissioners want clarified about budget overspending allegations?
Commissioner Andy Dance supported the idea for the webpage and encouraged the board to be specific in what it should say.
“I think the major accusations, from the original (March 2026) press release, should be addressed,” Dance said referring to the claims in Ingoglia’s report about the addition of “80 full-time administrative employees to accommodate a 32,564 increase in population growth” over the past six years.
“Because the rest of it is just vague … it’s just generalizations,” he added.
The lack of details in the CFO’s press release has been another major point of criticism among the commissioners.
County Chair Leann Pennington said that the county’s increase in reserves funding and the restructuring and reduction of outstanding debt should also be part of the informational webpage.
“If we can address the general fund spending — the capital projects, the roads that were paid out of it, how much went to reserves, what debt was paid off during that time,” Pennington said.
She said the increase in reserves (from $7 million to $52 million during the last six years) also contributed to the county’s increased bond rating to AA+.
“We do need something for the public,” the county chair added.
According to Interim County Administrator Adam Mengel, the webpage will touch on all the points brought forth in Ingolgia’s press release.
The county has requested a full, detailed audit from the CFO’s office, but staff has yet to receive it, according to Deputy County Attorney Sean Moylan.
How did Florida CFO arrive at $59M in ‘excessive’ spending for Flagler County?
Ingoglia’s analysis of Flagler County’s budget is just one of several he has done for other municipalities across the state.
In October 2025, the CFO blasted Seminole County’s budget for spending $48.4 million more than what he argued the local government should have.
Ingoglia said at the time that he reached that number from a basic calculation: He compared how much the county spent in 2019 compared to what it spent in 2025-26, factoring in population growth and inflation. He didn’t mention the inflation rate.
In his March 26 press release, Ingoglia said Flagler County added “80 full-time administrative employees to accommodate a 32,564 increase in population growth” in the last six years. The CFO did not specify which county government positions were filled, whether they were high-level positions, nor what the employees’ salaries were.
With the same idea he applies for Flagler, his argument is that spending in other municipalities is outstripping growth.
Ingoglia’s press release does not specify which parts of the budget are included in the “excessive” $59 million figure.
The News-Journal requested a copy of the CFO’s analysis and with questions to Ingoglia’s office in March and April. Neither the CFO or his staff responded to either request.
The News-Journal this week filed a new public records request for the CFO’s full audit of the county’s budget.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Still no audit from Ingoglia; Carney calls stunt ‘campaign crutch’
Reporting by Brenno Carillo, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brenno Carillo, Daytona Beach News-Journal | USA TODAY Network
