The DeSantis DOGE spotlight comes to Broward and Miami-Dade

The DeSantis administration’s Department of Government Efficiency — named after the Trump administration’s “DOGE” cost-cutting operation — is ratcheting up scrutiny of local government spending in South Florida, calling out Miami-Dade and Broward counties in a sprawling new report that accuses both Democratic-led municipalities of expanding budgets far faster than population growth.

The task force’s long-awaited report, released on Wednesday, frames Miami-Dade and Broward as examples of what it calls “absence of budgetary discipline”: local governments collecting record levels of property tax revenue and using it to expand nonessential programs and leadership payrolls, while residents struggle with rising housing costs and inflation.

Packed with examples of what the state claims is misguided spending by locally elected office holders, the report comes as the Republican-led state legislature is advancing proposed changes to the Florida Constitution that would slash property taxes collected by counties and municipalities. The tax-cut referendum has been one of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ top priorities as he prepares to leave office later this year, while local governments are warning of deep cuts in services that taxpayers depend on if voters approve the most drastic proposals.

The report, which does not accuse either county of fraud, is the latest salvo in the DeSantis administration’s ongoing fight with local governments — most, but not all, led by Democrats — over taxes, spending and what state leaders describe as ideological priorities in public agencies. It arrives as both Miami-Dade and Broward confront looming budget pressures of their own, from rising labor costs to aging infrastructure, even as property values — and the tax revenue that follows — have surged across South Florida.

Miami-Dade and Broward are the two largest counties in the state, home to more than 4 million residents combined and some of Florida’s most expensive real estate markets. Their size makes them prime targets for the governor’s DOGE initiative, which has used public records requests, audits and data analysis to identify what it argues are opportunities for local governments to cut costs and reduce taxes.

Miami-Dade DOGE report is out

The DOGE report’s main criticism of Miami-Dade’s spending in recent years was not cutting tax rates enough as government revenue surged from both a real estate boom and an influx of federal aid related to the COVID pandemic.

Using published budget figures, the report pointed out Miami-Dade spending from its general fund — a roughly $2 billion pool of public money dominated by property taxes — grew about 80% over eight years.

“The scale of this growth has enabled a remarkable amount of irresponsible spending, when the County should have prioritized limiting the burdens of rising property values on county taxpayers,” the report stated.

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, a Democrat, took office in 2020. In her first four years in office, spending from the general fund increased nearly 50%, compared to a 25% increase during the prior four years under her Republican predecessor, Carlos Gimenez, now a U.S. representative. Levine Cava’s budgets in 2023 and 2024 included a pair of 1% cuts in rates for property taxes, though the average bills continued to rise slightly due to inflation allowances under state rules that shield most homeowners from higher tax assessments that would otherwise come from rising real estate prices.

Levine Cava was reelected in 2024 by a wide margin over a mostly Republican field of challengers. She has praised her first-term budgets as key to Miami-Dade’s rebound from the economic fallout of the COVID pandemic, with county funds going to help people avoid eviction and foreclosure, rent subsidies for working-class tenants and expanded charity grants.

“These investments paid off,” Levine Cava said last summer when she introduced her 2026 budget proposal. “Miami-Dade became one of the fastest recovered economies in the country.”

The report had about two dozen specific spending examples the DeSantis administration considered wasteful. Those included Miami-Dade spending on art in government buildings, anti-pollution efforts at PortMiami and with county buses, and more than $90 million this year on construction and renovating cultural institutions — a capital budget that includes the rehabilitation of the Coconut Grove Playhouse and the Miami-Dade Auditorium.

Among the costs cited as problematic: $13 million for curbside recycling, $14 million for sports and cultural grants the state said are “often DEI-themed,” and $24 million for bus cleaning the state says is still based on COVID sanitation standards.

The report criticizes the county bringing electrical infrastructure to PortMiami that allows cruise ships to shut down their smog-producing generators while docked, a $125 million project that received $20 million from the state’s Department of Transportation.

“The county has spent capital funds extensively on infrastructure projects justified by purported ‘benefits’ associated with climate change, but that are unlikely to have an impact,” the report said. “Miami-Dade’s wasteful climate-related spending includes a project costing at least $125 million to provide shore-based power to cruise ships while docked.”

Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez, a Republican who has been the most critical of Levine Cava’s budgets, said the report validates his demands for more detailed budgeting and spending details from the administration.

“We need accountability for where every cent is going,” he told the Miami Herald. “We need to make sure these budget line items are not just broad. But detailed.”

Broward County DOGE report

DOGE similarly argued that Broward’s budget growth reflects spending priorities that go beyond core government functions, pointing to cultural grants, consulting contracts, and the expansion of legal and administrative staffing.

Among the figures was Broward’s transportation department, which DOGE said spent $6.2 million on executive leadership salaries — an average of $564,000 per position. DOGE also singled out Broward’s county attorney’s office for a reported 78% jump in spending on lawyers and personnel over five years, while also noting the county discontinued a “billable hours” metric that previously tracked productivity.

The task force also scrutinized Broward’s arts and culture spending, dinging the county for budgeting $9.2 million for cultural grants in fiscal year 2024-25, noting the program has grown 65% since fiscal year 2021-22. The report argued the growth was especially concerning because administrative costs for the program had climbed from $1.6 million to $2.7 million, meaning nearly a quarter of the funding was being spent on administration rather than grant awards.

Another example DOGE flagged was $175,000 spent on “virtual art” in a Metaverse-esque project that the report described as viewable only through virtual spaces like a “virtual Fort Lauderdale airport.”

The report also dinged Broward for what DOGE cast as runaway spending tied to diversity initiatives, including a $2.8 million annual grant, which DOGE said Broward has used to make “intentional efforts” to fund “DEI-oriented programs.” The report did not list any specific examples of DEI-related awardees but said DOGE found that Broward awarded some of the grant money to county employees.

Among Broward’s other DEI-related expenses the report characterized as wasteful was $890,000 spent on diversity training since fiscal year 2019-20. “Broward County is Aggressively Promoting Transgender Ideology,” the report read, attaching an image of a training graphic depicting a “gingerbread person,” meant to explain gender identity.

A Broward County spokesperson, Gregory Meyer, said in a statement that “while we are aware of a report on DOGE, we have not reviewed an official version from the state.” Meyer provided the Herald with a letter dated July 21, 2025, and signed by Broward County Administrator Monica Cepero, telling DOGE that “over the past five years, ad valorem and budget growth have aligned closely with cost drivers like population growth and inflation, while the total millage rate has been held flat and public safety has been prioritized.”

Cepero’s letter pointed out that Broward’s total budget includes major enterprise operations — including Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Port Everglades, Water and Wastewater Services, and Solid Waste — and noted that Broward voters in 2018 approved a 30-year, 1% transportation surtax that’s included in the county’s total budget.

“We share the Governor’s commitment to ensure that taxpayer collected funds are spent responsibly,” Cepero wrote. “Broward County prides itself on efficiency, transparency, and fiscal responsibility, as reflected in our financial and operational practices.”