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Sheriff seeks 7% market adjustment as part of $119.4 million request; board approves budget 4‑1
Summary
Sheriff presented an $119.4 million FY‑26 budget request, citing a 7% market adjustment to address vacancies and recruitment against higher pay in neighboring jurisdictions; commissioners approved the sheriff's tentative budget 4‑1 with Commissioner Vargas dissenting.
Sheriff (surname in transcript: Foodensy) asked the Board of County Commissioners on July 21 to approve a fiscal‑year 2026 budget request of $119,388,205, an 8.84 percent increase staff said was driven by mandatory cost increases and employee market adjustments.
The sheriff said the department faces about 66 vacant funded positions — more than 10 percent of the department's complement — and argued a 7 percent market adjustment is necessary to recruit and retain deputies and corrections staff. He described competing pay packages in neighboring jurisdictions and cited recruitment incentives being offered elsewhere, including state bonuses and larger sign‑on packages in some agencies.
The sheriff identified nonnegotiable cost drivers such as a $1.2 million increase in the Florida Retirement System contribution and rising health‑insurance costs. He told commissioners the department prioritized filling currently funded vacant positions rather than adding 50 new positions his command staff initially requested.
Commissioners questioned staffing in the jail, the proportion of employees living outside the county (the sheriff said about 52 percent do), and the overtime and correctional staffing pressures. The sheriff said the jail population was 594 the day of the meeting and described programmatic efforts such as a mental‑health pod and recruitment initiatives.
Commissioner Campey moved tentative approval of the sheriff's budget and thanked the sheriff for the presentation. Commissioner Vargas said she was concerned about continued budget growth and urged belt tightening; the sheriff responded that his office had been available to answer questions after the June budget drop‑off. The board voted 4‑1 to tentatively approve the sheriff's budget, with Vargas dissenting.
What changed: The sheriff said the request keeps the department within available revenue growth while focusing on retention and recruitment, and he and several commissioners described public safety as a budget priority. The tentative approval will be subject to the same wrap‑up and statutory hearings that apply to the overall county budget.
