Individual departments identified smaller but recurring savings. The Destin Public Library found roughly $12,000 in savings, including about $7,500 tied to subscriptions that were no longer being used or had expired and needed to be canceled, Jones said.
Human Resources identified about $50,000 in savings by correcting workers’ compensation classifications and restructuring parts of the hiring and testing process.
“We saved about $50,000 making sure our workers comp classifications were correct, and doing some restructuring of the way we brought folks on board, and some testing and things we were doing that probably didn’t have as much value,” Jones said.
City documents show additional Tier 0 efficiencies in information technology and Parks and Recreation, including eliminating underused software modules, transitioning to lower-cost systems, bringing some maintenance work in-house, improving energy efficiency and relying on grant-funded staff to reduce pressure on the general fund.
Tier 1 initiatives, described by staff as “quick wins” expected to be implemented within six months, focus on reducing administrative time, fuel use and recurring operating costs. Among them is a proposal to simplify or eliminate the city’s annual budget book, a process estimated to consume roughly 450 hours of department director time each year. Staff estimate that streamlining the document and discontinuing participation in the Government Finance Officers Association budget review program could save about $24,500 annually.
Fleet management is another focus area. City data shows more than 1,200 hours of vehicle idling each year. A proposed five-minute idling limit is expected to save $3,000 to $5,000 annually in fuel and maintenance costs. Utility and telecommunications audits are also planned to identify unused power meters and obsolete phone or fax lines, with projected savings of $5,000 to $8,000 per year, according to city documents.
Other Tier 1 actions include packaging road resurfacing projects into larger annual bids to reduce contractor mobilization costs, shifting some janitorial supply purchases to lower-cost vendors, such as Amazon Business, and raising purchasing card limits for certain positions to reduce paperwork and delays while maintaining audit oversight.
Looking further ahead, Tier 2 initiatives target structural efficiencies and asset management.
These initiatives include using telematics data to identify underused vehicles for reassignment or retirement, renegotiating decades-old building leases to ensure fair rents and shared maintenance responsibilities, expanding paid parking in the Harbor District with half of the proceeds reinvested locally, and conducting regular fuel card audits to detect waste, misuse, or fraud.
Tier 3 initiatives are longer-term and more strategic, including standardizing capital project close-outs and implementing centralized warranty tracking to protect city investments, speed project completion and improve contractor accountability.
Jones emphasized that DOGE is being implemented within existing departmental budgets using current staff resources, with any future costs for technology tools or consulting support expected to be offset by savings generated through the program.
“There’s a good amount of information in your packet that you may review, but that’s the crux of where we are today,” Jones said. “Pleased with staff has worked hard to identify those things, and we’ll continue those efforts moving forward.”
No immediate council action was required, though staff said future DOGE initiatives that require approval will be presented in a standardized format outlining data analysis, recommended actions, expected outcomes and measurable benefits.