Escambia County Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger scrambled yesterday to send out the attachment that her District aide, Melanie Luna, failed to include in a late Friday afternoon email.
Background: The agenda item is a discussion on hiring a firm “to evaluate and make recommendations to maximize the efficiency of the County’s operations with the goal of achieving the rollback rate with the least impact to the community.” Getting it on the agenda was a heated topic during the commission meeting on Nov. 6.
The Announcement
The release, strangely dated Nov. 11, is titled, “Commissioner Hofberger Proposes Comprehensive Efficiency Study to Streamline County Operations and Reduce Tax Burden.” Read the Comprehensive Organizational Efficiency Study Press Release NOV.
The commissioner wants the firm to “evaluate all county departments, engaging directly with managers and employees to identify opportunities for reorganization, resource optimization, and improved service delivery.” She claims that if the evaluation had been done last year, the county would have saved $11 million.
- Hofberger is quoted: “No one has ever emailed me asking to raise their property taxes. Our residents expect us to do everything possible to reduce the tax burden while maintaining essential public services. This study is a step toward that goal.”
What About DOGE? In August, State Rep. Michelle Salzman asked Attorney General James Uthmeier and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia to audit Escambia County. However, the Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) targeted the City of Pensacola instead. DOGE auditors have not visited Escambia County government offices.
But She Raised Taxes
In September, over two dozen people appeared at the commissioners’ budget hearing. Hofberger advocated for nearly doubling the annual fire services tax for residential property owners, which went from $125.33 per home to $226.68 per home. Commercial property owners went from $0.0526 per square foot — at a minimum $125.33 — to $0.0985 per square foot at a minimum $226.78. The tax increase passed…