DOGE audit makes Manatee County a test case for defying DeSantis, developers

The escalating fight has become one of the sharpest examples yet of DeSantis using state power to quash local control, even in GOP-dominated areas.

Manatee County voters snubbed Tallahassee last fall when they rejected Gov. Ron DeSantis’ hand-picked, pro-development commission candidates and instead elected a slate of grassroots Republicans who promised to rein in runaway growth.

True to their word, the new commissioners quickly moved to cap sprawl — vowing to raise impact fees on developers to pay for new infrastructure, pushing to restore wetland protections and halting some large-scale projects altogether.

But those steps have now put them on a collision course with the governor and the powerful real-estate industry closely aligned with his administration, which has pushed back at every turn.

In June, the governor vetoed the county’s $4 million in state budget requests after a commissioner criticized Senate Bill 180, a controversial pro-developer state law. More recently, his administration warned of “inevitable consequences” if Manatee raised impact fees.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2025/08/30/manatee-county-doge-audits-desantis-real-estate-developers/