June 9, 2025 - Florida’s Department of Governmental Efficiency (FL DOGE) is a newly created state task force aimed at rooting out wasteful spending and improving government accountability. FL DOGE is examining state agencies and local governments alike by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) tools to identify inefficiencies that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Initial Steps – Letters to Local Governments:

In March 2025, the Governor’s office sent an initial two-page letter to every local government in Florida. This first letter (dated March 18) served as a financial “check-up” questionnaire, asking local governments to confirm whether they have experienced any signs of financial emergency or distress in recent years. Local officials were given 45 days to respond – roughly until early May – with a clear warning: If no response is received within 45 days, the state will presume the local government is in “possible statutory violation” and in need of assistance. Specifically, local governments were instructed to disclose if they had encountered any of the following issues since July 1, 2018:

• Missed Debt Payments: Failing to make payments on loans or bonds when due.
• Overdue Bills: Creditors’ uncontested claims unpaid for more than 90 days, or any inability to pay vendors/employees on time.
• Unremitted Taxes or Contributions: Failure to transfer required tax withholdings, social security, or pension contributions as mandated by law.
• Chronic Deficits: Major fund balances in deficit for two consecutive years (i.e., back-to-back budget deficits in key funds).

Shortly after the initial survey, FL DOGE followed up with a second letter on April 11 (distributed in waves) that delved deeper. This second request asked each local government for detailed financial and operational data, including organizational charts and position salary ranges, departmental budget reports, contract details, service delivery metrics, and even work schedules. In essence, after the first letter assessed which local governments might be at risk, the second letter seeks granular information to spot inefficient spending or inappropriate levels of payroll. By sending two rounds of letters to all local governments — one to identify any past or present fiscal crises, and another to gather budgetary specifics — the governor has signaled that a comprehensive audit of local government spending is underway.

Reaction of Local Governments

The FL DOGE initiative has prompted some local governments to scrutinize their own budgets and even take preemptive cost-cutting actions. In Jacksonville, for example, a group of city council members launched a local “Duval DOGE” committee in mid-March, explicitly inspired by the state and federal efficiency drives.

Other cities have also responded by considering internal reforms and spending restraint. In Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida, City Manager Cynthia Curry addressed the FL DOGE announcement by rallying her staff to exercise fiscal discipline. In a memo to city employees, Curry noted that Gainesville has already weathered recent budget challenges through prudent decisions — maximizing operational efficiencies, consolidating departments where appropriate, and even reducing certain services when necessary.

Anticipated Next Steps for FL DOGE

With the initial fact-finding phase underway, FL DOGE’s next steps will involve analyzing the abundance of data collected and will act based on those findings. This can take several forms, some of which are as follows:

• Increased State Oversight of the government entity’s finances or budget processes.
• Mandated Financial Recovery Plans that the government entity mu st implement under state monitoring.
• Appointment of a financial emergency board or external administrator to guide (or even temporarily take over) the entity’s fiscal management.

For the majority of local governments that are compliant, the next phase may simply be ongoing dialogue and improvement. FL DOGE’s team, augmented by data analytics and AI, will sift through the detailed budgetary info from the second letter to spot patterns of waste or inefficiency. The task force is expected to generate reports or recommendations for both the governor and the legislature on how to streamline operations at all levels of government.

Since the FL DOGE task force has set certain goals within a year of its inception, we are anticipating a comprehensive report in early 2026 documenting the findings and recommendations, one of which will likely be the elimination of dozens of state boards and commissions that FL DOGE has flagged as unnecessary. FL DOGE has announced a target of abolishing 70 boards and commissions in 2025 along with 900 positions.

Preparing for Future Compliance

Florida’s governmental entities are looking to the future and asking how they can remain vigilant. The key for local governments is to institutionalize strong financial management and transparency practices so that compliance becomes second nature. Here are a few ways local governments can prepare to be more FL DOGE compliant going forward:

• Maintain Healthy Budgets: Prioritize balanced budgets and avoid deficit spending.
• Timely Audits and Reporting: Stay current on all required financial filings, audits, and pension contributions. Delayed audits can lead to state funds being withheld, constraining governmental revenue capacity and producing poor cash flow metrics.
• Embrace Transparency: Be forthright about financial challenges and address them openly. If issues do arise (e.g., a fund running a deficit or a missed loan payment), proactively inform state authorities and outline a remediation plan. Transparency builds trust.
• Audit Yourself First: Consider conducting internal efficiency reviews regularly. Several clients of Citrin Cooperman have already reached out requesting consultation relating to the streamlining of operations in an effort to improve efficiency. The use of AI is one way we are helping our clients stay as efficient as possible.
• Protect Core Services: Focus on cost-cutting non-essential expenditures while safeguarding vital public services. Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee Chair, Ron Salem, advises targeting “expenses not related to our core functions.”
• Stay Engaged with the State: Rather than viewing FL DOGE as an adversary, local governments might treat the state as a partner in efficiency. Miami’s decision to welcome the FL DOGE team to help find savings is one example of collaborative compliance. Government entities can liaise with FL DOGE officials or Florida’s chief financial officer for guidance on best practices.

With over 45 years of accounting, auditing, and business consulting experience, Citrin Cooperman’s Governmental Industry Practice assists local governments and organizations remain lean with cost containment strategies, Digital Services and ERP implementations for streamlining operations, fraud examinations, cybersecurity services, and technology platform implementations including NetSuite, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Vena.