After a state audit claimed Manatee County’s budget is excessively growing, county officials say they want to “better understand” the findings.
On Thursday, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia presented the results of his office’s Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight (FAFO) audit of the county during a press conference in downtown Bradenton. Among the findings, Ingoglia said the county’s general fund is $112 million more than what the state thinks it should be.
“They’re hiring librarians, administrators, clerks and expanding government at a rate that is probably unprecedented in this area,” said Ingoglia, who argued that those new hires are examples of “wasteful, excessive spending” by Manatee County Government…