Florida DOGE to Audit Alachua County Government Tomorrow
Members of the Florida Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) will conduct their audit into the Alachua County government August 13-14. The move comes shortly after DOGE audited the City of Gainesville government.
Alachua County Board of Commissioners Chair Charles “Chuck” Chestnut IV received a letter from DOGE leaders two weeks ago, and county officials have said publicly they will provide all requested documentation.
The letter reads as follows:
Dear Chairman Chestnut,
Over the last four years, the taxpayers of Alachua County have watched as your county government has increased annual budgeted spending from the General Fund by over $80million, and spending from other funds by approximately $200 million. This spending has been supported in part by over $50 million in increased annual property tax burdens on property owners. Having entrusted their governments with the power to tax, the citizens ofFlorida have aright to expect that their elected officials will spend the collected funds responsibly, and ontruly necessary programs. Governor DeSantis has charged us, through Florida’s DOGEeffort, to identify and report on this type of excessive spending at the city and municipal level. In follow-up to our July 11, 2025 letter requesting information linking your county's sources of revenue to its expenditures, the DOGE team has identified additional information needed for our review. In exercise of the Governor’s authority under the Article 4,Section 1(a) of the FloridaConstitution, the Chief Financial Officer’s authority under 2025 Florida Statutes 17.04 and 17.05, and the Office of Policy and Budget’s authority under the Laws of Florida, chapter 2025(199), Section 124, we hereby request access to your county’s physical premises,data systems, and responsive personnel, as detailed below our signatures, on August 13,2025 and August 14, 2025 at the county offices and such other locations that you identify as necessary to comply with these requests.
You may reach out to the Florida DOGE team and OPB regarding this request at 850-759-2440 orEOGDOGE@laspbs.state.fl.us.
Responses to the information requests may be provided at the time of the requested access, or may be provided electronically in advance by contacting us for access to a secure electronic portal to which documents and other types of data may be uploaded.
You should note that financial penalties may accrue for your failure to comply with each of the following requests for access on those dates…
Specific Requests
For each of the following topic areas, you are requested to make available: (i) the information and documents described; (ii) access to the data systems containing such information and documents; and (iii) individuals with appropriate expertise to describe the county's activities and decisions
Topic: Procurement and contracting
Request No.1 Policies, procedures, rules, and legal requirements for procurements or contracts in excess of $10,000.
Request No. 2 A list of all procurements and contracts in excess of $10,000.
Request No. 3 All records of bid solicitations, vendor selections, and contract documents for procurements or contracts responsive to Request No. 2.
Request No. 4 All information supporting the determination of the reasonableness of pricing for procurements or contracts responsive to Request No. 2.
Request No. 5 A listing of all sole source procurements or contracts in excess of $10,000.
Request No. 6 For all sole source procurements or contracts responsive to Request No. 5, the sole source procurement justification form and all other information supporting use of a sole source procurement.
Request No. 7 For all sole source procurements or contracts responsive to Request No. 5, all information supporting a determination that the pricing was fair and/or reasonable.
Request No. 8 All reviews and reports on the timeliness of work authorizations, notices to proceed, change order approval, billing, invoicing, and payment.
Topic: Personnel Compensation
Request No. 1 The amount of regular pay, overtime pay, bonuses, and other cash compensation for all employees from FY 19-20 to present.
Request No. 2 All rules, procedures, and guidance at the department-wide level or above regarding promotions, step or level increases, or bonuses from FY 2019-20 to the present.
Request No. 3 A list of all decisions to provide department-wide or county-wide salary increases or bonuses from FY 2019-2020 to the present.
Request No. 4 For all decisions responsive to Request No. 3, any analysis conducted of the costs of such increases, alternatives, and projections of future associated costs and how such costs would be paid.
Request No.5 Individuals with appropriate expertise to discuss your jurisdiction’s performance management systems and their use in promotions, pay increases, and bonuses.
Request No. 6 Data at the department level or above regarding the extent to which staff meet or exceed performance targets.
Request No. 7 Policies regarding the accrual of leave and payout of leave on separation.
Request No. 8 Access to the systems used for tracking leave accrual.
Request No. 9 Records of all leave payouts on separation exceeding 25% of the annual salary of the separating individual from FY 19-20 to the present.
Request No. 10 Access to the systems used for tracking overtime.
Request No. 11 Records of all personnel recording more than 25% of their hours as overtime.
Request No. 12: Policies, procedures, and interview and candidate assessment tools such as rubrics for the Mayor’s Future Ready Academy, all expenditures on this program, graduation rates for this program, and a list of the current positions for all graduates of the program whose employment status is currently known.
Management Practices
Request No. 1 Records of all inventories of tangible personal property, including:
a) the date of the most recent inventory performed to date]
b) the reconciliation of that inventory to property records
c) records of disposal between inventories
d) identification of attractive personal property items
Request No. 2 For any county-owned property leased to another entity, private or public:
a) the amount of the lease
b) the terms of the lease
c) any assessment of the fair market value of the property
d) the basis and determination that such lease constitutes the best use of the property.
Request No. 3 For any purchase or sale of public-owned property, the most recent appraisal made prior to such purchase or sale.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Request No. 1 All jobs with the responsibility to advance the diversity, equity, inclusion, or so-called anti-racism, including, but not limited to, individuals in the Human Resources Department, and the Equity Office within the Office of Sustainability, Equity, & Economic Development Strategy. Diversity, equity, and inclusion includes any form of preferential treatment based on race, ethnicity, gender, or the like (including the use of substitutes such as “cultural competence” or “lived experience” to conceal such preferential treatment), training sessions or other programs that separate people into groups based on intrinsic characteristics, and training or required statements about privilege, bias, diversity, racism, or belonging.
Request No. 2 The current positions and activities of any person who previously had such responsibilities and is still employed by Alachua County.
Request No. 3 The titles, dates of administration, and duration for any scheduled training for county personnel, or made available by the county to others (including but not limited to contractors, grant recipients, or members of the public) that included diversity, equity, inclusion, or anti-racism as a topic or subject.
Request No. 4 The titles of any unscheduled or self-service training for county personnel, or made available by the county to others (including but not limited to contractors, grant recipients, or members of the public) that included diversity, equity, inclusion, or anti-racism as a topic or subject.
Request No. 5 For any training responsive to Request No. 3 or Request No. 4, a copy of all training materials used, provided to participants, or made available for participants to obtain voluntarily.
Request No. 6 For any training responsive to Request No. 3 or Request No. 4, the identities and qualifications of those conducting the training.
Request No. 7 For any training responsive to Request No. 3 or Request No. 4, the names and positions of those attending the training.
Request No. 8 For any training responsive to Request No. 3 or Request No. 4, the identities and qualifications of those conducting the training.
Request No. 9 For any training responsive to Request No. 3 or Request No. 4, all costs and expenses associated with the training.
Request No. 10 For any training responsive to Request No. 3 or Request No. 4, if the training was conducted by a contractor or other external entity, all documents related to the qualifications, selection, and payment of such individual, contractor or entity.
Request No.11 Any program operated by the county on the basis of an individual’s race, ethnicity, or gender, or targeted to a specific group based on the group’s racial, ethnic, or gender characteristics.
Request No. 12 Any grant made by the county to an organization that operates on the basis of, or for the benefit of, individuals of a specified race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity other than male or female, or that targets a specific group or set of groups based on race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.
Request No. 13 Any communication sent to all county staff, or to all staff within a county department, between January 1, 2019 and the present, regarding diversity, equity, inclusion, DEI, or so-called anti-racism.
Request No. 14 All actions by the county, or by county staff or officials using their official title, in support of the Truth and Reconciliation project or the Alachua County Community Remembrance Project, including all communications sent from or to county staff regarding these initiatives, and any policies or recommendations made stemming from these projects.
Request No. 15 All actions by the county, or by county staff or officials using their official title, in support of the Truth and Reconciliation project or the Alachua County Community Remembrance Project, including all communications sent from or to county staff regarding these initiatives.
Request No. 16: All information regarding the county’s Digital Equity Program, including policies, plans, and activities to seek or make expenditures as part of the program.
Request No. 17: All reviews and assessments conducted by the Equity Advisory Council and all reports and recommendations made by the Council, including all feedback on the review of Comprehensive Plan chapters.
Green New Deal
Request No. 1: Identify any goals or targets for carbon or emissions reduction that have been adopted, or are being pursued, by the county, including any adopted in the county’s Sustainability, Equity, & Economic Development Strategy (SEEDS), as well as any goals appearing in any draft of the county’s Climate Action Plan:
Request No. 2: For any goals or targets listed in response to Request No. 1:
a) consideration of alternatives to any such emissions goal or target;
b) any cost-benefit analysis undertaken in support of such emissions goal or target, including any analysis conducted or estimate made of the impact of adopting the goal on global climate;
c) A list of all, actions, and expenditures taken to date to advance that goal; and
d) All assessments of the impact on global climate of the actions and expenses taken in support of that goal
Request No. 3: If not included in the response to Requests No. 1 and No. 2 above, any purchases or other expenses for the lease or acquisition of battery-electric vehicles (EVs), EV infrastructure, energy purchases associated with EV infrastructure, solar power systems, carbon credits, carbon charges, or other emissions reduction mechanisms, and for each such expense, provide any records, assessments, or analysis of:
a) Any alternative purchase option, including but not limited to, no-purchase options, purchase or lease of internal combustion engine powered vehicles, power generated from other sources;
b) any analysis of the impact of the action on global climate;
c) records of the reliability of any EV, EV infrastructure, or solar power system in use by the county during the time period from January 1, 2019 to present;
d) records of all training related to the topic of climate change, battery-electric vehicles, or solar power, including the justifications, content, and attendance records for such training, and the location and costs (including travel costs) of such training.
Grants and Other Financial Management
Request No. 1: Policies, procedures, rules, and legal requirements for grants made to external entities such as NGOs, and for all such grants made since January 1, 2023:
a) records of all such grants made
b) records of all payments made pursuant to such grants
c) Procedures for monitoring of spending and performance by recipients of grants
d) all records of the monitoring and performance of such grants
Request No. 2: For all grants received by the county other than those made by a state agency, in partnership with a state agency, or administered by a state agency:
a) the matching requirements for such grants, if any
b) the source of funding for the match
c) records of the decision to pursue such grant
d) analysis of the impact of the grant, including any assumptions made in support of the analysis.
Transportation
Request No. 1: Since January 1, 2023, for all installations of traffic calming devices, included but not limited to speed tables, speed humps, raised intersections, curb extensions, and chokers, the following information:
a) the location, capital, planned lifecycle, and expected annual maintenance costs
b) the basis for the installation, including any plan, analysis, or recommendation
c) information related to the consideration of any alternatives
Request No. 2: For all traffic calming devices not included in Request No. 9, the planned lifecycle and expected annual maintenance costs.
Homeless Services
Request No. 1 Direct spending by the Alachua County on programs related to the homeless.
Request No. 2 Grants to other entities, including NGOs, related to homeless services.
Request No. 3 Alachua County’s efforts to measure the effectiveness of these programs.
Request No. 4: All data collected or otherwise in the County’s possession regarding mental health, crime, immigration status, substance abuse, and public service usage in connection with homeless and affordable housing services.
Specific Individuals
As part of our request for individuals with appropriate expertise, please make available the following individuals:
Dr. Betsy Riley, Sustainability Manager
Michelle Guidry, Contracts/Grants Administrator
Gracia Fernandez, Alachua County Language Access and Immigrant Inclusion Specialist
Taissia Moore, Project Manager, SEEDS Office
