The City of Pensacola will be the latest target of Florida’s Department of Government Efficiency — or “DOGE” — as the DeSantis administration’s high-profile spending review program turns its attention to Northwest Florida.
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In an Aug. 7 letter, DOGE officials told Mayor D.C. Reeves the state will send a team to Pensacola on Aug. 18–19 to examine “physical premises, data systems, and responsive personnel” under the Governor’s constitutional authority and the Chief Financial Officer’s statutory powers. The audit follows an earlier records request from July 11.
The letter, signed by senior adviser to the Governor Eric Soskin, CFO Blaise Ingoglia, and Office of Policy and Budget Director Leda Kelly, frames the review around local tax and spending trends: “Over the last six years, the taxpayers of Pensacola have seen the budgeted annual property tax burden rise by over $11 million dollars — an increase of over 70%,” it states, adding that the city’s population “has remained nearly unchanged, and potentially even declined,” while the general fund grew nearly 50%.
DOGE warned “financial penalties may accrue” if the city fails to provide the requested access or records. The state offered a secure electronic portal for document uploads and outlined dozens of detailed requests covering everything from procurement policies to overtime logs.
City pledges ‘full transparency’
In an Aug. 13 reply to the Governor, Reeves struck a conciliatory tone, while also defending the city's decision making.
“Like your administration, it is a core priority of my administration… to ensure that the taxpayers’ money is used responsibly, ethically, and efficiently for the benefit of our citizens,” Reeves wrote. “We welcome the opportunity to support your efforts and will enthusiastically provide full transparency.”
Still, Reeves noted that Pensacola's property tax rate is below the statewide municipal average and that it has not been increased since 1994.
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The rise in property tax revenue has been driven by higher property values and economic growth, Reeves said, and it has been outpaced by public safety needs, which created an estimated $20 million funding gap over this same period.
Population, Reeves added, is only part of the picture: over the past five years the city has issued 178 commercial and 1,282 residential certificates of occupancy and more than 3,600 permits for improvements. Pensacola’s airport now handles over 3 million passengers annually, doubling traffic over the past decade.
“This surge… brings economic benefits but also increases demands on public safety and infrastructure beyond what is required for our permanent population,” he wrote.
What the state will scrutinize
DOGE’s nine-page request list spans a wide range of city operations, but several categories stand out for their political resonance locally and nationally:
- Procurement and contracts: All policies for purchases over $10,000, records of bids and awards, sole-source justifications, and analyses supporting pricing decisions. One explicit target is the city’s handling of the Baptist Hospital demolition contract.
- Personnel compensation: A recent salary study by Evergreen Consulting, other pay studies since FY 2019–20, detailed pay and overtime data, and documentation of citywide raises and bonuses — including for any employee earning over $200,000.
- Property and programs: Leases of city property, valuations, and “all expenditures” tied to Reeves’ participation in the “Just City Mayoral Fellowship Program” at Harvard, along with any related strategies or policies.
- Utilities and transfers: Studies used to set rates since 2019 and the methodology for transferring money from the utilities system to the general fund.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Jobs and programs advancing “diversity, equity, inclusion, or so-called anti-racism,” training materials and attendance, and any grants or services targeted by race, ethnicity, or gender identity.
- Climate and sustainability: Records of emissions-reduction targets, cost-benefit analyses, and any purchases of electric vehicles, charging stations, solar systems, or carbon credits — including analyses of their “impact… on global climate.”
- Grants office and oversight: All policies and records for city grants to outside organizations since Jan. 1, 2023, including monitoring procedures and performance reports. DOGE also asked for details on grants the city receives from non-state sources, matching requirements, and impact analyses.
- Bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure: For all bike/ped projects in the FY 2024–25 budget or capital improvement plan, the city must provide calculations of maintenance and operating costs and the assumptions behind them. For completed projects since 2020, DOGE requested actual operating and maintenance expense records.
DOGE’s role in state politics
DOGE was launched earlier this year by DeSantis and Ingoglia to uncover “waste, fraud and abuse” in local and state government. The program mirrors a similar federal “Department of Government Efficiency” championed by President Donald Trump and tech executive Elon Musk.
In Florida, it’s closely tied to Republican-led efforts to curb or eliminate local property taxes, with the governor urging cities and counties to offset rising values with rate cuts. Ingoglia has said the reviews are a “long-term” effort and expects a constitutional amendment to eliminate property taxes on primary residences to be on the November 2026 ballot.
Why Pensacola, and why now?
While DOGE has also audited larger, mostly Democratic-led cities and counties, Pensacola’s inclusion has prompted speculation.
Some local observers point to Reeves’ late-July endorsement of Rep. Byron Donalds — a Trump ally running for governor in 2026 — at a time when First Lady Casey DeSantis is widely seen as a potential candidate. “Yeah, he has my full support. I think he’s an amazing guy and I think he’ll be a great governor,” Reeves said then.
Others note ongoing tension between the governor’s office and Northwest Florida Republicans, including Reps. Michelle Salzman and Alex Andrade. Andrade has clashed with DeSantis allies over an investigation into the First Lady’s Hope Florida initiative, and both he and Salzman joined local officials in opposing the governor’s appointees to the University of West Florida Board of Trustees earlier this year.
What’s next
DOGE’s Pensacola visit is set for Aug. 18–19, with the city pledging to accommodate all requests. Ingoglia has said DOGE will issue a written report within 60 days of each audit.
In the meantime, the audit’s scope all but guarantees scrutiny — and likely debate — over some of the city’s most high-profile initiatives, from the Baptist Hospital site cleanup to employee pay reforms, DEI programming, climate-related purchases, bike and pedestrian projects, and more.
