This top Florida official spent $391,000 on office furniture

While Jamie Grant was remodeling his state office, $30 million in cybersecurity funding remained unspent by the agency.

TALLAHASSEE — When former state lawmaker Jamie Grant was chosen to lead Florida’s new cybersecurity office last year, he didn’t like the look of his new digs.

So he set about with a remodel.

Grant spent $391,980 this year replacing the office furniture. Tearing out and installing new carpet cost another $144,705. And $85,042 went to equip the office with a dozen 86-inch interactive 4K touch monitors.

Grant intended the office makeover to give the new Florida Digital Service department the same vibe as a tech startup company, according to former employees. Gov. Ron DeSantis chose Grant last year to be the state’s chief information officer despite his lack of a technology background.

In July, a month after Grant finished the remodel, the new secretary of the Department of Management Services, a former Trump administration official named Todd Inman, moved to limit spending by Grant and nearly everyone else in the office to $100,000 without higher approval, records show. Grant’s previous limit was $1 million.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/12/10/this-top-florida-official-spent-391000-on-office-furniture/