FORT PIERCE, Fla.- Today, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Blaise Ingoglia announced that the City of Fort Pierce is excessively and wastefully overspending by over $10 million. The City's General Fund Budget has increased nearly 60% since Fiscal Year 2019-2020. CFO Ingoglia is urging the City of Fort Pierce to cut excessive spending and provide residents with meaningful property tax relief.  

Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia said, “Constituents across Florida have made it abundantly clear that they want property tax relief. Our FAFO methodology has continually demonstrated that local governments have the ability to cut their budgets and help homeowners keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets. It is time to hold local government bureaucrats accountable for their reckless spending and take real steps towards making housing more affordable.”

David Santiago, Strategic Director of LIBRE-Florida, said, “Fiscal irresponsibility from government officials can deeply impact the lives of hard-working Floridians and business owners. Property tax relief is much needed, and I fully support CFO Ingoglia’s mission to expose wasteful spending in local government budgets."

The General Fund Budget for the City of Fort Pierce has increased by $25,357,239, or 59.76%, between Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-2020 and FY 2025-2026. Population growth from FY 2019-2020 has increased by 4,546 people. For every new resident that moved to City of Fort Pierce, the budget increased by $5,578. As for every family of four that moved to the city, the budget increased by $22,312.  

The City of Fort Pierce added 90 full-time employees. However, only 15 positions were first responders.  

The Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight (FAFO) found that the City of Fort Pierce can lower their millage rate by 1.93 mills without impacting any of the fundamental services that are provided to citizens. If the city applied FAFO’s recommendation, homeowners could save: 

• A taxable home value of $400,000 would save $772 per year 
• A taxable home value of $500,000 would save $965 per year 
• A taxable home value of $600,000 would save $1,158 per year 

CFO Ingoglia has uncovered over $1.98 billion in excessive and wasteful spending in the General Fund Budget over the past two fiscal years across fourteen local governments. CFO Ingoglia plans to continue to expose excessive, wasteful spending across the state as part of his role as Chief Financial Officer of Florida.