ORLANDO, Fla. — Audits into local governments’ spending from Florida’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continue to make rounds across the Sunshine State.

The latest on the list: the city of Orlando.

City staff were quick to cooperate with DOGE’s request and had already started organizing the requested documents upon receiving the letter less than two weeks before DOGE’s visit.

What You Need To Know

DOGE audit into City of Orlando’s spending continues for second day

The city received an eight-page letter from the state that was almost identical to those sent to other counties and cities being scrutinized

City staff provided some more than 27,000 documents to DOGE officials based on requests they made in the letter

A detailed report containing findings from the audit could be published in the next two months

On the first day of the audit, Mayor Buddy Dyer told reporters city staff had already handed some 27,000 files over to state officials.

City leaders had said from the get-go though that they had nothing to hide.

Less than two weeks ago, the city received a letter almost identical to those sent to other counties and cities being scrutinized.

“We’re open to letting anybody go through our books. Most of the information they have is readily available through public records requests or some of what we submit to the state anyways, but we feel like we’re prudent city government,” says Dyer.

Documents relating to spending on homelessness, personnel compensation and diversity equity and inclusion, or DEI, are currently being sorted through by the state.

Among some of the concerns outlined in the DOGE letter, a 55% increase in property tax collections since 2020.

But District 5 Commissioner Shan Rose says that regardless of what the report shows, the city will continue to fight for the services that the community needs most.

“I would hope that the social services that we provide from our neighborhood centers to making sure we reduce crime to all the activities we do in the city are not negatively impacted with what somebody saying we shouldn’t be spending on that. We are doing everything we can to meet all of the social services needs in our community from unhoused to making sure we don’t have flooding in our communities,” says Rose.

She also says the city has monthly internal audits that offer guidance into where they should and shouldn’t spend. 

A detailed report compiling the findings from this audit could be published in the next 60 days. 

This auditing process comes one week after state officials retrieved hundreds of thousands of documents from Orange County to determine if there had been excessive government spending.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said his office provided DOGE with more than 183,000 files by the end of its visit.