Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia says Palm Beach County government wasted more than $400 million last year and should return that money to taxpayers through a major tax cut. Ingoglia released the updated figure Tuesday during a news conference at Palm Beach State College’s Boca Raton campus, where he continued his statewide push for what he calls government accountability through the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight, or FAFO. The CFO said Palm Beach County overspent by $443.2 million in the last fiscal year, up from the $344 million figure he announced during a previous visit. “Palm Beach County government, in our estimation, has been spending your money like drunken sailors,” Ingoglia said. “Palm Beach County is just drowning in excessive and wasteful spending.” Ingoglia said local government is growing faster than taxpayers’ ability to pay for it. He argued that rising property values have led to higher property tax collections, and that local governments have used that extra revenue to expand spending instead of cutting taxes.

Source: Florida CFO accuses Palm Beach County of wasting $443M in taxpayer money