Sheriff appeals budget cuts to Tallahassee

The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) is appealing its 2010-11 fiscal year budget to the Office of Policy and Budget in Tallahassee.

If the State does not side with the ACSO, seven school resource deputies will be removed from their positions and the Sheriff’s School Crossing Guard program will be eliminated at the start of the new fiscal year, announced Sheriff Sadie Darnell.

“We are obviously worried about this,” said Jackie Johnson, Alachua County School Board public information officer. “These are two programs that are vital to the safety of our students.”

Darnell reduced the ACSO budget by $1.14 million last May. The County Commission then reduced the budget by an additional $500,000 in July without Darnell’s input.

This additional amount was taken to help pay for increases in legislative mandated employer contribution rates for special risk retirement and a county mandated employer contribution for health insurance for the positions funded out of the law enforcement budget.

In an attempt to solve the discrepancy, several alternatives were presented to the County Commission such as finding a middle ground, and using reserves for contingency funding, among others. Ultimately, three County Commissioners voted to maintain the additional budget cut.

In the past four years, the ACSO has encountered budget cuts of almost $6 million. In the sheriff’s office appeal to the State, Darnell says the agency cannot incur extra budget cuts without reducing services.

If the appeal doesn’t prevail, Johnson doubts the school district would find the money to pay for the programs itself. “It would be very difficult in a year where the governor is proposing cutting the budget by $13 million.” The school district already pays $418,000 to help fund the school resource deputies.

School resource deputies serve as a law enforcement presence in schools around the county, monitoring criminal activity. They also serve as mentors to students in middle and high schools.

There is no word on how long the Office of Policy and Budget will take to answer the appeal.