In another example of local fiscal irresponsibility, Orlando City Clerk Stephanie Herdocia spent thousands of tax dollars on her recent Vegas trip. Making matters worse, there were in-state and virtual options available to the City Clerk, which could have saved taxpayers a lot of money.
West Orlando News obtained records showing City Clerk Stephanie Herdocia attended the Laserfiche “Empower” Conference in Las Vegas. She stayed all week at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the taxpayers’ dime, even adding an extra night to accommodate her travel schedule. She spent over $800 on Southwest airfare, and more money on Vegas taxis. She also was assigned a city credit card with a $5,000 limit to take with her on the Vegas trip. The registration for the conference cost taxpayers nearly $1,500, and taxpayers were on the hook for all of Stephanie Herdocia’s breakfasts, lunches and dinners for the week, totaling hundreds of additional dollars.
It added up to costing thousands of local tax dollars.
At least one of Herdocia’s expenses that the city provided was made after the conference had ended, although city officials are now delaying and avoiding answering follow-up questions and will not release the full credit card statement. Why did the Orlando City Clerk expense a monorail ticket? Herdocia makes nearly $140,000 base salary and is an appointee of Mayor Buddy Dyer. She sent a total of eight emails during that entire week, according to a public records request.
Sources in City Hall pointed West Orlando News to the Vegas trip, stating Clerk Stephanie Herdocia viewed it as a “vacation” and that it was even reportedly described that way to staff by former Deputy City Clerk Ken Walsh, who resigned abruptly while WON was investigating the office. The City of Orlando denies that it was a “vacation” and insists City Clerk Herdocia attended a necessary conference worthy of local Orlando tax dollars.
But no one at the City of Orlando, including Stephanie Herdocia herself, can provide any notes, materials, or takeaways from the conference. West Orlando News asked city spokesperson Ashley Papagni and Stephanie Herdocia about what conference sessions were attended and what the City Clerk learned in relation to her government position, and neither would answer. WON made public records requests for all notes, materials, and any work product from Stephanie Herdocia during that week. There were no responsive records, according to the city. In fact, the Orlando City Clerk could not even be identified in the official conference photo by city officials.
As the City of Orlando faces the Florida DOGE audit from CFO Blaise Ingoglia, Mayor Buddy Dyer claims that his administration is fiscally responsible despite his Chief of Staff, Heather Fagan who makes almost $300,000, approving an unnecessary Vegas trip using thousands of dollars on the taxpayers’ dime.
Laserfiche offers products for document management and process automation. It has been used by the City of Orlando for the last few years as the platform to upload meeting agendas, minutes, and supplemental documents, according to the city website. City Clerk Stephanie Herdocia listed herself as an “Intermediate” user skill level which stated “I am comfortable using Laserfiche” on the conference registration. She serves as the administrator of the system for the City of Orlando.
Laserfiche actually offers virtual and digital options to save money while still receiving all the information from the conference. In fact, there were in-state options the Orlando City Clerk could have attended. The company said that free online training modules are available year-round. There is a free three-day Laserfiche “boot camp” for administrators on December 9, 2025 and it states it is for beginners, intermediate and advanced users.
Despite all these more fiscally responsible options, it looks like the Orlando City Clerk wanted to travel to Vegas to learn, at a cost to taxpayers, and Chief of Staff Heather Fagan agreed.
Stephanie Herdocia also attended the same conference – the Laserfiche “Empower” Conference – in 2023. Her total expenses to the city were only $130.69, according to city records. That’s quite a difference to her 2025 Vegas trip.
Sources in the City Clerk’s office also stated to West Orlando News that this Vegas “conference” was never mentioned in a staff meeting after happening, such as what Stephanie Herdocia learned or how to improve the city operations when she returned.
The West Orlando News urges Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and Governor Ron DeSantis to demand a full audit and review of all operations of the City Clerk and her staff. We urge the CFO and Governor to review all unnecessary expenses, including Orlando City Clerk Stephanie Herdocia’s trip to Vegas.
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