- 9 hours ago
- 4 min read
Hillsborough County’s version of the federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has identified over $678 million in “potential waste,” as local officials scramble to grasp potential property tax reform impacts.
A recently released Fiscal Accountability Report from the Hillsborough County DOGE Liaison Committee recommends cutting funding for employee wages, nonprofits - particularly those that support diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts - an Indigent Health Care Plan, school-zone speed cameras, and community liaison positions. Commissioner Christine Miller proposed establishing the advisory board in April 2025.
Five volunteer committee members met with county administrators and reviewed documents for a year. However, they “did not conduct transaction-level testing, interview personnel under oath, or independently verify information provided to us,” according to the report.
“The opportunities identified in this report should not be viewed as a comprehensive assessment of all potential savings opportunities across county operations,” states an executive summary.
“The committee identified additional areas that warrant further evaluation and believes further review may yield additional opportunities to improve efficiency, strengthen accountability, and reduce costs.”
Led by Chairperson Jake Hoffman, executive director of Tampa Bay Young Republicans, the committee found $529.25 million to eliminate from the county’s budget. Another $149.1 million was “recommended for review and reduction.”
The $678.33 million total - about 6% of the county’s $12 billion budget - excludes approximately $452 million held in the Indigent Health Care Reserve Fund. Committee members strongly advocated for ending the 25-year-old initiative, which covers low-income residents who do not qualify for Medicaid.
Funded by a dedicated 0.5% sales tax that generates roughly $200 million annually, the health care program had expenditures of approximately $296 million to serve 24,000 residents in fiscal year 2026. The DOGE committee believes it is no longer needed due to “Medicaid modernization and the Affordable Care Act marketplace.”
The report, which is not a forensic or financial audit, highlights several substantial program contracts with “little or no utilization.” It also offers a noteworthy caveat: “The opaque nature of healthcare contracting limits the Committee's ability to assess efficiency, effectiveness, and value.”
Committee members believe that Hillsborough should overhaul its employee compensation system. They recommended a fixed, merit-based budget that distributes raises according to performance ratings.
“A workforce strategy grounded primarily in budget availability, rather than service demand, population growth, infrastructure requirements, or program outcomes, may lead to inefficiencies or misalignment with public priorities,” states the report.
The DOGE committee singled out the county’s Conservation and Environmental Lands Management Department for personnel costs increasing by 35% while “adding only eight positions to a workforce of over 200 employees.” Members believe the human resources office, which employs 119 people to support roughly 7,000 positions, is overstaffed.
They also identified approximately $12.75 million in grant awards that warrant further review and possible elimination, including $1.08 million for fraternity and sorority alumni organizations.
Several nonprofits dedicated to uplifting people of color were flagged for receiving funding without an adequate description, performance metrics, or a defined scope. Those include the Tampa Bay Black Business Investment Corp., Men of Vision Inc., Enterprising Latinas, and Community Tampa Bay Inc., which received $5,000 for youth diversity leadership training.
The report also notes that Hillsborough funds five full-time community liaison positions with an approximate annual cost of $500,000 that “appear to overlap with functions already performed by existing departments.”
Committee members spotlighted the county’s Diversity Advisory Council as one of 50 with “indicators of limited engagement.” County commissioners are “independently evaluating the structure, purpose, and effectiveness of its standing councils and committees,” according to the report.
What’s next?
The report, dated June 10, notes that the committee was created to work with the Florida DOGE team and county administrator to “identify opportunities to reduce local government spending.” It states that “recommendations are advisory only,” and members have “no authority to direct, implement, or compel action by the county.”
However, the release notably coincides with recently passed property tax reform legislation. Hillsborough stands to lose $367 million in annual revenue if voters approve the drastic overhaul in November.
The DOGE committee’s report could serve as a guide to reducing the budget should the property tax amendment pass in November. While their one-year term ended in April, members advocated for county commissioners to:
Extend the committee's mandate through August 2027, with an expectation of a second report.
Include the committee in the review of the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget.
Authorize the committee to conduct staff interviews.
Authorize the committee to use approved artificial intelligence tools and software services tailored to its work (and provide a small, defined budget for those tools where required).
Compel constitutional offices and authorities to participate in the DOGE process.
Share whistleblower fraud, waste, and abuse submissions with the committee.
Whether county commissions will adopt some, all, or none of the committee’s recommendations is yet to-be-determined.
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