WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — For months, WPTV has been closely following the impact of cuts to the federal government.
Now, we've obtained a new letter showing Florida's own "DOGE" team is looking to identify cases of unnecessary spending in our local governments.
WATCH BELOW: How Florida's DOGE team plans to use 'advanced technology'
WPTV reporter Dave Bohman spent Monday pressing community leaders who received the so-called "DOGE letters."
The governor's office and the DOGE team sent a two-page letter to every municipality in the state.
One part of the letter warns local governments to tell the governor's office if it has had financial emergencies or distress or cases of being unable to pay bills.
The letter also tells municipalities that the DOGE team will "use advanced technology to identify, review, and report on unnecessary spending within county and municipal governments."
WPTV called and e-mailed elected officials to see how they are taking the news that Gov. Ron DeSantis' newly created state team will look through local communities' books for waste and inefficiency.
We heard from Wellington Village Manager Jim Barnes who said that in Palm Beach County the auditor general performs similar reviews every year.
So, we asked Barnes if the DOGE review is really necessary.
"Clearly, in our opinion, we believe that we perform at the most efficient way possible," Barnes said. "And certainly, we'll be open to suggestions that folks with an outside pair of eyes can lend."
Other city and county leaders did not return our calls or emails.
Barnes said he's confident the governor's DOGE team will find little if any wasteful spending in his village's budget.
Read below the full letter from the governor's office sent to Florida municipalities:
