Town says no financial stress in response to state’s DOGE letter
The State of Florida, under Gov. Ron DeSantis, has embarked on its own department of governmental efficiency (DOGE) as modeled under the controversial federal program being run by the office of President Donald Trump and the assistance of Elon Musk.
The state’s new DOGE office came knocking on the door of just about every municipality in Florida this past month with letters inquiring on each government’s financial condition.
The Town of Fort Myers Beach was among those who received the letters from DOGE, asking if the town had encountered “any instances of financial emergency or distress.”
Fort Myers Beach Finance Director Joe Onzick replied to the letter this past week, saying the town “has not encountered any instances of financial emergency or stress since the fiscal year of 2018-19 and it does not anticipate potential instances of financial distress in the next six months.”
The letter to the town, addressed from the office of the governor, defined financial emergency or distress as including a failure to pay short-term loans or obligations when due as a result of lack of funds, failure to make debt-service payments of claims from creditors, or make retirement plan contributions, or having a negative fund balance for two or more years.
The letter to the town, signed by “EOG DOGE Team,” states that Gov. DeSantis established the DOGE team through an executive order (EOG stands for executive office of the governor). The team’s aim is to “use advanced technology to identify, review, and report on unnecessary spending within county and municipal governments and recommend legislative reforms to promote efficiency, maximize productivity, and eliminate waste in state and local government.”
The Town of Fort Myers Beach received an $11.9 million bridge loan from DeSantis in 2023 through the Local Government Emergency Bridge Loan program to help the town recover after Hurricane Ian. Though there have been talks in the past amongst state legislators of potentially seeking to have the state forgive the loan, there has been no recent indications that the state may do so. The loan calls for the town to pay it back with 10% interest.
A message left with the office of DeSantis seeking comment on whether the state will forgive the loan, was not returned.
Last year, the Town of Fort Myers Beach tapped into the bridge loan to help replenish its fund balance. The Town of Fort Myers Beach Council authorized the transfer of $3.085 million from the $11.9 million state bridge loan to replenish the town’s general fund as a result of lost revenue due to the effects of Hurricane Ian.