(Photo by Aidan Carmody)
ORLANDO | Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia issued investigative subpoenas Aug. 27 to Orange County employees as the state’s DOGE team seeks documents related to the county’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
In a news conference, Ingoglia accused Orange County’s government of not being truthful when DOGE auditors showed up this month demanding documents about county budgets, payroll, grants and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, among other topics.
“Taxpayers have a right to know how their hard-earned dollars are spent,” Ingoglia said. “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. I promised to hold local governments accountable on overspending and I am proud to work with Governor DeSantis to keep that promise.”
He will be issuing investigative subpoenas related to five DEI grants in Orange County.
“I applaud CFO Ingoglia for issuing subpoenas to Orange County employees involved in grant decisions, fiscal operations, and divisional management,” DeSantis said. “Altering public records and trying to cover up reckless spending decisions is unacceptable, and we will continue working to uncover the truth.”
Also in attendance was Alicia Farrant, Orange County School Board member, who spoke after DeSantis and Ingoglia. It was just this month that she called the LGBTQ+ Awareness and History Month proclamation a “push to normalize sexual promiscuity and sexual ideations at a young age.”
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings released the following statement:
“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.
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.
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.”
In a press release from DeSantis, it says cooperation is not optional and Orange County has a responsibility to explain the irregularities flagged by the State of Florida DOGE team through full cooperation with the DOGE audit and subpoena.
Watermark Out News attended the news conference. View the full conference here and our photos below.
Photos by Aidan Carmody and Bellanee Plaza.
You must be logged in to post a comment.