JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville city councilman filed a resolution Monday formally requesting the governor’s Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force to conduct a voluntary financial audit of the City of Jacksonville.

Councilman Terrance Freeman filed the legislation in support of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Executive Order 25-44, which launched the DOGE task force in February.

“Taxpayers deserve confidence that their money is being spent wisely,” Freeman said in a statement. “By voluntarily inviting the Governor’s DOGE team to examine Jacksonville’s books, we’re embracing accountability and actively seeking ways to trim government waste, improve efficiency, and pass savings along to the taxpayers.”

Freeman said the resolution would build off the work being done by city council’s special committee “Duval DOGE” to review city spending.

“I believe inviting the Governor’s team to take an outside look at our finances, combined with the Duval DOGE, will equip our city with every tool possible to ensure we are operating at peak efficiency,” Freeman said.

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan’s office argues that the resolution is a waste of taxpayer resources and said it appears to duplicate a process already outlined in the City Charter.

The mayor’s statement pointed to a meeting between the Independent External Auditor Selection Committee on Tuesday, April 1. The selection committee, made up of Councilman Nick Howland, Councilman Raul Arias and Councilman Will Lahnen, met to discuss selecting an independent auditor, according to the meeting memo. 

The committee said Carr, Riggs & Ingram, a Jacksonville accounting firm, was ranked the highest during the application process, the document states.

The document states that Council Auditor Kim Taylor plans to have a contract in place with the firm by July 1, 2025. 

The rate for the top accounting firm is estimated at $425,000, the document states.

“It seems Councilman Freeman missed the memo that his colleagues are already hiring an independent external auditor, an annual process that is outlined in the City Charter,” the mayor’s office said in a statement to First Coast News. “It’s hard to understand why he wants to waste taxpayer resources on duplicating this effort.”

Freeman pointed out that if the resolution is adopted, Jacksonville would become one of the largest municipalities in Florida to voluntarily partner with the state’s watchdog team to evaluate its financial systems.