Florida CFO says St. Lucie County wasted $46 million. Here's what that number actually means.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia held a press conference in Port St. Lucie Wednesday claiming St. Lucie County "wasted" $46 million in taxpayer money.

A note before we start: This story isn't about whether property taxes are too high or whether government should be smaller. It's about what Ingoglia's $46 million figure actually represents.

What he did: Ingoglia's office took the county's 2019-2020 general fund budget, indexed it forward for inflation and population growth, then compared it to today's budget. The difference is what he calls "wasteful spending."

The numbers: Ingoglia says St. Lucie County's general fund grew from $162 million in 2019-2020 to $285 million in 2025-2026, a $123 million increase over six years. He says the county added 72,452 residents and 212 full-time employees during that period.

County response: St. Lucie County spokesman Erick Gill disputed the employee count, saying the county actually added 130 employees while still employing fewer people than in 2007 despite serving 140,000 more residents.

What Ingoglia did not do: Ingoglia said repeatedly "this is not a forensic audit" and refused to identify specific programs, departments, or line items where waste occurred.

"I'm not going to fall into the trap of giving you certain line items," Ingoglia said when asked which departments should be cut. "That is a question for the administrator on how they're going to cut, not if they're going to cut."

His methodology: Based on a formula used in Colorado and Utah that assumes any government budget growth beyond inflation and population is excessive. He's applied this to 17 Florida local governments, claiming $2.1 billion in "wasteful spending" statewide.

What he claims the money went to: "The vast majority of the money that's increased is government employees. Legacy government employees," Ingoglia said. Out of 212 new employees, only 22 were sheriff's deputies.

The context: Ingoglia is traveling Florida with Americans for Prosperity, a conservative advocacy group, pushing for a constitutional amendment to cut property taxes. He said he wants "the most aggressive property tax cut possible" on the November 2026 ballot.

Local reaction:

St. Lucie County Commission Chairperson Jamie Lee Fowler: "From what I know and how I know that we're spending the money, I don't see where there's fluff. We are doing infrastructure, we're doing water, we're doing drainage."

St. Lucie County Commissioner James Clasby: "This is just great. I believe this is more ammunition for me to push for the cuts I'm looking to do."

What's next: Ingoglia said his office plans to conduct actual forensic audits in the future but has not announced when. He also plans to review school district budgets using the same methodology.

The bottom line: "This is not a specific line item event," Ingoglia said. "This is telling you how large the government has grown and how much people are being overtaxed."

The question: Is the $46 million figure a fact about wasteful spending, or an opinion about how big government should be?