Seminole County leaders are responding after Florida’s chief financial officer accused the county of overspending and overtaxing residents.

Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia recently said his office’s calculations show that Seminole County’s local government is “overspending to the tune of $77 million.”

In response, the county’s Board of Commissioners sent a letter to Ingoglia, saying the criticism paints an incomplete picture of the county’s budget.

Board Chair Jay Zembower said the county agrees with the state about spending wisely but argued that the cost of required services — like fire and public safety — continues to rise.

“State statute requires us to fund public safety, which we’re going to do,” Zembower said. “We think we’ve done a good job. We’re just quite frankly take

See Full Page