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Sheriff presents FY 2026 budget submission highlighting pay, retirement and health insurance cost pressures
Summary
Pinellas County Sheriff reported a FY26 budget request of about $476 million, citing market‑competitive pay increases, a large rise in Florida Retirement System special‑risk contributions and unexpected health‑insurance cost growth as principal drivers. Non‑general fund revenues and contract increases offset some pressure.
Pinellas County Sheriff on July 17 outlined the sheriff's office FY2026 budget submission and described personnel costs, pension and health‑insurance increases as the major cost drivers.
The sheriff said the department's requested budget totaled about $476 million for FY26, up from $456 million adopted the prior year; the department expects roughly $54 million in non‑general fund revenue (contracts with municipalities, federal inmate housing and other sources) and has sought to increase non‑general revenue to reduce general‑fund pressure.
Primary cost drivers the sheriff cited were planned pay increases to remain market competitive (he described a projected 3% increase for deputies, pending collective‑bargaining), a projected $8 million increase in employer contributions to the Florida Retirement System (FRS) special‑risk rate, and a marked rise in health‑insurance costs (a reported 14% increase versus more typical year‑to‑year changes). The sheriff said total wage increases across sworn and non‑sworn roles were projected at about $12.7 million (roughly $8.5 million sworn, $4.2 million non‑sworn). He also said social‑security increases would add roughly $1.2 million.
The sheriff reported recruitment and staffing improvements since the prior year: the office had reduced deputy vacancies from 126 to about 50 openings through hiring and retention efforts, but asserted that pay must remain competitive to recruit and retain deputies. He characterized the office as relatively lean (1.8 deputies per 1,000 residents) compared with the Florida average reported at 2.4 per 1,000.
To offset general‑fund pressure, the sheriff said the office has pursued higher per‑diem for federal inmates, contract rate increases for municipal contracts (an 8% increase this year) and other non‑general fund revenue sources; a proposed federal inmate per‑diem increase could add about $5 million if agreed by federal partners. The sheriff said many budget line increases are structural (FRS pension rates set by state actuarial calculations) and not under his control.
He also reviewed operational successes: a 54% reduction in Part I (most serious) crime in the sheriff's service area from 2014 to 2024 and continued work on patrol priorities such as speeding enforcement on US‑19. The sheriff said he and county administrative staff reached agreement that the submitted top‑line budget would not increase further while bargaining continues and recommended using non‑recurring revenue for one‑time, non‑recurring costs where appropriate (for example, a year with two Friday holidays increases holiday pay once).
Next steps: the sheriff will continue bargaining with the union on wages and final numbers and will present the formal budget at the countywide budget hearing next week.
