A Florida DOGE for local government spending boosts accountability

As Gov. Ron DeSantis doubles down on making Florida’s government leaner and more efficient, mirroring the spending cuts being championed at the federal level, it is just as critical that we hold our local governments accountable for looking out for taxpayers.

Dominic M. Calabro

DeSantis recently announced the creation of the Florida State Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) task force, a temporary but aggressive effort to root out inefficiencies in state administration. While Florida already boasts the lowest number of state government workers per capita in the nation, the governor is determined to find even more ways to streamline operations and cut waste.

However, efficiency can’t stop at the state level. Taxpayers deserve the same accountability at the local level, where purchasing departments in counties and municipalities wield enormous power to approve multi-million-dollar, multi-year contracts — often with little scrutiny.

Overlooked power

Federal and state governments receive the bulk of media attention, while local purchasing departments quietly recommend and renew long-term contracts with minimal oversight. Debate is often nonexistent when a contract reaches a consent agenda for city councils or county commissions. Once approved, these contracts typically remain unexamined for five to 10 years — until renewal.

This isn’t to say local governments are inherently mismanaging funds. However, we must expect proper safeguards and ethical guidelines to protect taxpayers. President Ronald Reagan’s famous advice to “trust, but verify” applies here. Unlike state governments, which follow uniform procurement policies, each local entity sets its own rules, often without outside oversight. As a result, taxpayers face inconsistent protections and potential inefficiencies.

Challenges of local procurement

Local purchasing agents face an overwhelming task — advertising, evaluating, executing, renewing and overseeing hundreds of contracts for goods and services they can’t reasonably be expected to master.

For example, when bidders propose a new contract, who ensures a “competitive bid” isn’t secretly written to favor the incumbent vendor? A single provision — such as requiring a certification from a European standards group instead of an American equivalent — can effectively sole-source a contract, blocking fair competition.

Some contracts lock in unnecessary expenses for years. Cities and counties overpay for imported goods despite domestic alternatives simply because contracts are so long that new vendors rarely get a chance to compete. In the face of tariff fluctuations, a domestic supplier would be a smarter safeguard against rising costs, but outdated contract terms often prevent such shifts.

Illusion of competition

Many local contracts are structured to automatically renew, meaning vendors retain lucrative agreements without ever facing new competition. Even when original prices have risen significantly, renewals are granted out of convenience rather than rebidding the contract. If a contract is written to favor one vendor, competition is merely an illusion, and taxpayers foot the bill for inflated costs.

Worse, no clear oversight mechanism exists to challenge unfair contracts once they’re in place. Even if an inefficiency is discovered, there’s often no way to report or fix it until the contract expires, sometimes years later. With purchasing agents managing countless contracts, there’s little incentive to challenge the status quo, even when taxpayers would benefit. This must change.

Expanding accountability

For over four decades, Florida TaxWatch has served as Florida’s version of DOGE, identifying inefficiencies and saving taxpayers money through data-driven research.

One of our proudest initiatives is the Government Productivity Awards, which recognize state government employees who go above and beyond to promote efficiency. This year, we aim to expand the awards to local governments, providing recommendations to help counties and cities operate more effectively and transparently.

At Florida TaxWatch, we are committed to being a watchdog at every level of government, ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. But we can’t do it alone. We need engaged citizens to speak up, ask questions and demand accountability.

Dominic M. Calabro has led Florida TaxWatch’s world-class research team — the “eyes and ears” of taxpayers — as president and CEO for nearly all of the organization’s 45-year existence.