SWFL.io - Local NewsMaddie Herron
•7/22/2026
CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK) — The city of Cape Coral has released hundreds of documents to the public following a Florida DOGE review, giving taxpayers more access to see how their money is spent.
The city says they were not required to release the state-requested documents to the public, but wanted to out of transparency. The documents are now available online for residents to review.
Melissa Mickey, communications manager for Cape Coral, explained how the city structured its responses based on DOGE's information request letter to make them easier for residents to understand. The city responded to each item individually to provide clarity.
READ MORE: Cape Coral releases 342 DOGE audit documents for residents to review
"You will see one of the letters from DOGE. It specifies lots of different information and items and for multiple fiscal years. And so, when the city, we literally responded to each item, and when you see a response, you will see item one, and then yes, some of them are very large documents, but that gives you a better picture, an idea of what you're looking at," Mickey said.
One of the documents in Item 3 is "Transaction Analysis for FY 24- 26" - a master list of purchase orders between the City of Cape Coral and vendors.
Some of the data can be very technical, and when things like dates and cost totals weren't immediately clear in that document, WINK News reporter Maddie Herron asked the city for clarification.
A spokesperson for the city said the Count of POs (purchase orders) is the total number of POs that, when combined, add up to the PO Amount. In that same document, the first set of POs is FY26, the second (which starts on page 25) is FY25, and the third set is FY24 (which starts on page 54).
With that context, the documents from the city of Cape Coral's vendor purchase order analysis show that some of the top spending in fiscal year 2026 went towards infrastructure-related vendors.
Examples of some of the top purchase orders the city spent were:
Mickey says infrastructure continues to be a city priority.
"We're a growing city, so some of the bigger projects, as well as infrastructure, and then our public safety. That's a lot of where a lot of the money goes, and that's what you're going to see when you see bigger spending," Mickey said.
Resident Jorge Sanchez says he knows how costs in the infrastructure industry can vary.
"I work in construction, so I know we have options. You know, you have a painter for $10,000; you can have the same painted room for $5,000. That's up to you. You know," Sanchez said.
Sanchez hasn't gotten a chance to look through his city's vendor purchase order list himself, but he says public access to more data is a plus for everybody.
READ MORE: City of Cape Coral releases financial and operational records following Florida DOGE request
"I'm not aware of whoever they're contracting, but I think they had to do some searching before they hire. You know they have to really search for... because right now, the bottom line is savings. That's the keyword, savings," Sanchez said.
The vendor purchase order master list is just a fraction of the data these new records show. Mickey says it's publicly online so that residents can form their own opinions.
"Go to the website. That's where the factual information is, and then you can agree or disagree or be upset or happy about it. But at least start in a factual place," Mickey said.
The city says it hasn't heard back from DOGE since sending over the documents, but if they do, that too will be posted online for the public to see.
WINK News will continue to look into the documents released by the City of Cape Coral.
A spokesperson for the city recommends that a resident should first look at the documents online to understand the information. If there are still questions, residents can email 311@capecoral.gov or call 311. They'll collect questions and send them to the right department to try to answer them.
The records and correspondence released by the city are available here.