Flagler County sheriff warns budget strain from pensions, insurance and soaring CAD/radio fees; proposes shifting dispatch to county

Sheriff Staley told the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners on Monday that his office faces a roughly $4.6 million budget increase next year driven largely by a 4% cost-of-living adjustment, higher Florida Retirement System employer rates and an estimated 15% rise in health insurance costs, and that escalating vendor fees for the county'owned CAD and radio systems are making operations unsustainable.

The sheriff asked the commission to consider a structural move: transfer the county'operated 911/dispatch employees to the Board of County Commissioners. He said the shift would lower his top-line budget next year by about $2,880,000 but acknowledged that would move the cost to the county budget rather than eliminate it.

Why this matters: dispatch and radio/CAD services affect all emergency responders and the location of staff and contracts drives who pays for system upkeep, repairs and vendor fees. The sheriff said Flagler County currently owns towers, the radio system, the CAD and RMS software and the building housing dispatch, while his office supplies the personnel that answer 911 and nonemergency calls.

Major figures and…