The state Chief Financial Officer’s (CFO) office has subpoenaed Orange County employees “who may have knowledge of efforts to obstruct the state’s ongoing local government DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] audits” that were initiated early this month, according to an Aug. 27 statement from the state.  

The move to subpoena comes from “irregularities in county records [that] were found during on-site visits by state DOGE teams, raising red flags among auditors,” the statement reads.

“Taxpayers have a right to know how their hard-earned dollars are spent,” Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia said in the Wednesday statement. “Today, we have issued subpoenas to ensure that Orange County is accountable to the taxpayers and is transparent with the ways that they use public funds. I will not stand idly by while Floridians are forced to pay higher property taxes to fund wasteful and bloated government budgets.”

Of note to Florida DOGE was the use of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring it alleges the county has prioritized over merit for significant resources, including the Orange County Fire Department.

“The County went so far as to spend $322,000 on a ‘disparity study’ in an effort to manufacture evidence of ‘discrimination’ toward those receiving government contracts so they could push for DEI-based ‘equal outcomes,’” the statement said.

Gov. Ron DeSantis established Florida DOGE in February to improve efficiency, transparency and accountability across all government sectors including state agencies, local governments, and colleges and universities.

In the Aug. 27 statement, DeSantis said he backs Ingoglia’s decision to subpoena Orange County employees who have been involved in grant decisions, fiscal operations and divisional management.

“Altering public records and trying to cover up reckless spending decisions is unacceptable, and we will continue working to uncover the truth,” he said.

The same day, Mayor Jerry Demings released a response to DeSantis and Ingoglia, saying that “Orange County Government fully cooperated with the Florida DOGE audit team providing all the data and documents requested. No employee was instructed to alter, change or delete any documents.”

Demings said county employees did not provide canned answers.

“While our employees may have read from or referred to notes or documents being discussed by the DOGE team, employees were not scripted in their remarks,” Demings said in the statement. “The state has offered no evidence to support its allegation that we were hiding information or acting without integrity. We welcome the opportunity for full public transparency on this issue.”

The Florida DOGE began auditing Orange County due to the latter’s yearly $330 million increase in additional ad valorem tax collections – an increase of over 50%, according to the state DOGE’s July 24 letter to Demings.

The additional ad valorem tax increase has been part of a growth in annual total expenditures of over $1.6 billion over the past five years, which represents a 57% increase in spending, the letter said.

Florida DOGE asked Orange County to provide various forms of information on Aug. 5 and 6 for the following sectors: procurement and contracting, property management, utilities, DEI, Green New Deal, grants and other spending, transportation and homeless services. 

Orange County officials said the state should consider the county’s population growth since 2020, impacting its public services.

“Since 2020, Orange County has grown by approximately 81,000 residents—a number greater than the population of 29 out of Florida’s 67 counties,” Demings said in a past statement responding to the July 24 DOGE letter.

Orange County provided the files and information as state DOGE requested in its July 24 memo, according to Amanda Dukes, Orange County spokeswoman, in an Aug. 6 email to The Apopka Chief.

Dukes said that, according to the Orange County Office Management and Budget, Ingoglia said the state DOGE will look over those files and issue a report of any findings within 60 days. 

In the subpoena served to Orange County attorney Jeff Newton on Aug. 27, Ingoglia asked Newton to produce items listed in Schedule A (attached to the subpoena) for inspection and copying to Ingoglia at 200 E. Gaines St., Tallahassee, at 9 a.m. on Sept. 8.

If Newton doesn’t comply with the subpoena, Ingoglia or the Department of Financial Services “may petition the circuit court of the county in which the person subpoenaed resides or has his or her principal place of business for an order requiring the subpoenaed person to appear and testify and to produce books, records, and documents as specified in the subpoena,” the subpoena states.  

The county omitted the list of names of the 15 county employees and Newton’s name who are to receive subpoenas from the state. 

“Some of those employees have not yet been served due to being on PTO [paid time off] or out of the office,” Dukes said in an Aug. 28 email to the media outlets, including The Apopka Chief. “We are holding off on releasing the list of names until we feel the state has made a concerted effort to serve all of them.”

The subpoena included a “Requests” page, stating what records must be submitted to the state, including those related to several community: Black History Project, Caribbean Community Connection of Orlando, Central Florida Urban League, Orlando Youth Alliance, Stono Institute for Freedom, Justice, and Security; Zebra Coalition and/or Zebra Youth.