Department of Management Services Secretary Todd Inman said he's not convinced Florida should spend all of its American Rescue Plan money.

"We can create inflation," he said.

During a question-and-answer session at the Florida TaxWatch Chairman's Dinner in Sarasota, the state leader said he's not anxious to burn through every dollar budgeted by the federal government in economic stimulus on top of what the state already spends.

"Give us the money that we can spend the most efficiently and effectively," he said.

Before an evening speech, TaxWatch chair-elect Piyush Patel praised Inman's work before coming to Florida to run DMS, the administrative arm of state government. He worked in the Donald Trump administration under Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, and Patel praised the fact even under strict lockdowns, American goods continued to ship.

Inman credited frontline workers. But he said the chief goal of the Transportation Department at the time was to "allow the economy to work without onerous restrictions." That stands in contrast, he said, to the supply chain problems facing the nation today.

"Now we're seeing the true effects on the economy that can start from regulation," he said, a clear dig at the Joe Biden administration and a threatening supply line crisis.

As Gov. Ron DeSantis' Department of Management Services Secretary, Inman said it has been critical to keep government lean and efficient as the state's economy grew. That's all the more important based on the inflation already impacting the state budget. Whether it's the cost of gas or steel, the value of every state dollar spent returns less value right now than it has in the past, he said.

That's informing his concerns about the use of American Rescue Plan funds. The state appreciates much of the funding, part of an economic recovery bill signed by Biden early this year. But to spend all of it immediately, Inman said, will create its own supply and demand pressures on material, labor and other costs both for the government and in the broader marketplace.

The state can't simply pocket it and put it in a bank account either, but Inman said in many cases it will be wiser to encumber the money but not spend it right away.