Financial transparency increasing for local governments

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(The Center Square) – Florida taxpayers will have increased access to see how local governments are spending their money under a bill passed by the Legislature during the regular session’s final week.

The only thing left for House Bill 1329 to become law is to be signed by second-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Proposed by Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, the bill increases financial transparency by requiring local governments to post downloadable budgets for public viewing. All employee salaries and travel expenses of the local government will be searchable.

Tentative budgets must be posted two weeks before a public hearing where the budget is adopted and final budgets must remain posted for five years.

“I have made it my mission to provide real transparency into local governments’ spending, so Floridians know exactly what their tax dollars will go towards,” said Ingoglia. “For far too long, local governments have benefited from ambiguity and inaccessibility in their spending habits. Not anymore. Now, local governments will be required to make budgets more accessible and identify areas in which spending can be reduced. The days of unchecked spending are over. Taxpayers deserve nothing less.”

Additionally, the bill requires the budget officer of each county or municipality to perform a budget cutting exercise before the final budget is adopted each year. In that exercise, a total of 10% worth of reductions must be identified within the budget that does not impact essential services like law enforcement and fire services.

“Local governments should provide the taxpayers with as much transparency into their budget process as possible,” said Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach, who sponsored the bill in the Senate. "Through this legislation, we are making it easier for the taxpayers to see exactly where their taxpayer funds are going. Thank you, CFO Ingoglia, for your work to bring accountability and transparency to local government budgets."

As the bill moved through committees earlier in the year, concerns were raised over creating a double standard for local governments versus the state government.

“We are not held to that same standard and we are also paid for by tax dollars, and I know many members use their district account to go to conferences and often times conferences that have political leaning and preferences,” said Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando. “And so if we’re going to hold our locals to that standard, we should do the same for ourselves. At the end of the day it’s the same tax dollars that we’re talking about, and I do feel that we continuously demonize local governments and we don’t hold ourselves to that same standard.”

It’s unclear exactly what financial impact the bill will have on local governments. A fiscal analysis acknowledged costs related to procuring financial software or increased administrative workloads are likely.

“Taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability when it comes to how their money is spent," said Rep. Yvette Benarroch, R-Marco Island. "As an elected official, that is one of my most important responsibilities. I appreciate CFO Ingoglia for leading on this issue and for his partnership in moving this legislation through the process."