The Clay County Board of County Commissioners has a long-standing commitment to operational efficiency and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. As part of that tradition, Clay County promptly responded to Governor Ron DeSantis' Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative—demonstrating its continued dedication to fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability in government.

December 26, 2024

The County wrote a letter expressing appreciation for Congressman Aaron Bean’s service and support of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. The County offered the County’s experiences and insights to help improve federal government processes through more efficient systems and reduce administrative burdens.

March 18, 2025

Executive Office of the Governor Department of Government Efficiency letter to County officials

The County received a letter from the Executive Office of the Governor Department of Government Efficiency inquiring of the status of the County’s financial condition under Section 218.503 Florida Statutes.

March 25, 2025

County’s response to Executive Office of the Governor Department of Government Efficiency inquiry

The County confirmed the County's sound financial health and strong fiscal management practices, stating there have been no instances in Clay County that would constitute a financial emergency or distress under any of the criteria listed in Section 218.503(1), Florida Statutes. Tara S. Green, Clerk of Court and Comptroller, provided a detailed affirmation of the County’s financial stability.

Read the letter here-  25 March 2025 FL DOGE Response Packet

April 8, 2025

Resolution  

The Clay County Board of County Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution supporting the Executive Office of the Governor Department of Governmental Efficiency Team, or EOG DOGE Team. With the vote, Commissioners solidified support for the County’s collaboration with the EOG DOGE Team to identify unnecessary local government spending, create efficiencies, and save taxpayer dollars.

Read the DOGE resolution- DOGE Resolution

April 11, 2025

Executive Office of the Governor Department of Government Efficiency: 1^st Request for Information

• Budget and spending reports at a line-item level of detail for each department
• Position descriptions and salaries for each employee
• All contracts with total costs, deliverables, spending amounts, and whether the contract was awarded competitively or non-competitively
• All grants made to each recipient, and subrecipients where applicable, with descriptions and purposes
• Service delivery metrics and performance for all departments
• Hours worked by department, and projects and tasks completed

 The County submitted the requested information in full by the required deadline, May 2, 2025.

April 17, 2025

The County names single point of contact for submissions

The County named Commission Auditor Heather Boucher as the County’s primary liaison in response to the EOG DOGE’s request to identify an individual to access a secure portal and be a single point of contact for material upload/submission.

April 22, 2025

Commissioner Auditor DOGE Update to the Clay County Board of County Commissioners

Commission Auditor Heather Boucher presented a DOGE update to commissioners at a Board of County Commissioners meeting.

While Clay County staff have always kept taxpayers in mind in making decisions and consistently look for areas of improvement, a more focused effort to identify opportunities has been at the forefront of conversations in 2025.

As a result of this focus, County staff identified and implemented the following known cost saving and efficiency opportunities in FY 2024/2025:

• Substance Use Disorder Facility location
  • Estimated cost savings $2-3M
• Fire Rescue Apparatus Purchase
  • Cost savings of $700,000
• Project review under Engineering Department for traffic signals on Eagle Landing Parkway
  • Cost savings of $669,843.66 from bid received
• Scope of work reduction under Parks and Rec and Facilities Department for Omega Park Lighting Project
  • Cost savings of $208,000
• Robust review of scope of work and plans under Capital Projects Department
  • YTD savings of approximately $75,000 over 3 projects
• Review and recalculation of change order under Facilities Department for Regional Park storage shed
  • Cost savings of $21,131.14
• Eliminated license purchased through Tourism Department providing duplicative visitor tracking data
  • Cost savings of $20,000

July 11, 2025

Executive Office of the Governor Department of Government Efficiency: 2^nd Request for Information

The second request from EOG DOGE required information from fiscal years 20-21 through 23-24  that included total revenues and revenue breakdowns, total budgets, revenue allocations and expenditures, intergovernmental transfers, and reserves.

The County submitted the requested information in full by the required deadline, July 21, 2025.

August 12, 2025

Commissioner Auditor DOGE Update to the Clay County Board of County Commissioners

Commission Auditor Heather Boucher presented a DOGE update to commissioners at the regularly-scheduled Clay County Board of County Commissioners meeting.

While Clay County staff have always kept taxpayers in mind in making decisions and consistently look for areas of improvement, a more focused effort to identify opportunities has been at the forefront of conversations in 2025.

As a result of this focus, County staff identified and implemented the following known cost saving and efficiency opportunities in FY 2024/2025:

• In-house pavement design and permitting for Moody Park performed by the County's Engineering Department
  • Estimated cost savings $65,000

• Purchasing tax-exempt materials and using alternative gutter materials for the new Animal Services building
  • Cost savings of $200,000

• Fire Station - design scope changes, deferring future improvements, and bundling building designs
  • Cost savings of $500,000

• Sun Trail - Improving existing sidewalk rather than construction new sidewalk
  • Cost savings of $20,000

• Eliminated redundant fire alarm systems at the sheriff’s office building in Fleming Island
  • Cost savings of $135,000

Additional process efficiencies have also improved operations for fire services, school zone beacons, and library systems.

Checks and balances, and how to report fraud, waste, and abuse 

The Clay County Clerk of Court and Comptroller serves as the ex-officio county auditor per constitutional and statutory provisions. The Division of Inspector General fulfills audit and investigative responsibilities, functions that serve as a check and balance. To provide for the highest degree of independence, the Inspector General reports functionally and administratively to the Clerk of Court and Comptroller who is independent of the Board of County Commissioners and County Manager.

You can learn more here, and report fraud, waste, and abuse here. 

 Looking to the future

With a long-standing focus on efficiency and responsible stewardship, the BOCC’s early action to the Governor's call for action reaffirms its commitment to transparency, accountability, and fiscal discipline—renewing its promise to the community to continuously improve how local government serves its people.