Hendry County sheriff asks commissioners for $2.72 million budget increase, cites jail capacity and tech costs

Sheriff Steve Whitten told the Hendry County Board of County Commissioners on June 10 that the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office is requesting a $2.72 million increase in its 2025–26 budget to fund new positions, equipment and a 5% cost-of-living adjustment.

Whitten said the 5% COLA request would total $652,000 and that the department is also budgeting for higher fringe rates and health-insurance costs. “Tonight, we've come before you to request an increase in our budget of 2.72, million dollars,” Whitten said. He told commissioners the increase would pay for two community service aides, two additional jail positions and one civilian records clerk, plus technology upgrades and capital outlay.

Why it matters: Whitten emphasized rising demand and limited jail capacity as immediate needs. He said the jail population is running “around 280-something” while the facility has 266 bed spaces, and a recent mock accreditation review recommended two additional jail positions. The sheriff also presented data showing calls for service rising from roughly 4,797 (Jan–May 2024) to about 7,000 in the same months of 2025.

Key details: Whitten singled out several budget line items. He described a roughly $500,000 annual cost for Axon services that cover body-worn cameras, vehicle cameras, license-plate-reading and cloud storage, and he listed IT upgrades at $390,000 and increased capital at $190,000. He said Axon’s platform also provides investigative tools and cloud storage that would be “into the multiple millions of dollars” to replicate in-house.

Whitten described the proposed community service aide positions as non-sworn civilian roles meant to handle non-emergency tasks—“burglaries that are not in progress,” certain crash reports, residential checks and VIN checks—so sworn deputies remain on patrol. He said those aides would not attend the full law-enforcement academy and would not carry firearms.

Regarding staffing, Whitten said Hendry County currently has about 90 sworn deputies (not counting 14 school resource officers) and cited an FBI benchmark of about 2.8 officers per 1,000 residents. Using the county population estimate discussed in the meeting (about 47,000), the FBI benchmark would imply about 132 sworn deputies.

Commissioners asked about recruitment and overtime. Whitten said the office still gives hiring preference to locals but hires from other counties when needed. He said previous hires approved by the commission the prior year have helped reduce crime and that added staffing would help reduce overtime but would not eliminate it immediately.

What was not decided: This presentation was part of a budget workshop; commissioners did not take a formal vote on the sheriff’s request. The sheriff asked for the board’s support during the budget process and for direction as the board continues to consider countywide staffing and facilities, including a longer-term discussion about jail capacity and potential funding sources.

Next steps: The sheriff said he will work with county staff, lobbyists and state/federal contacts to pursue funding for a new jail, noting that planning and construction can take several years. The commission and staff will continue to review the proposed operating and capital numbers during the budget process.

Ending: Whitten closed by noting the department’s recent reaccreditation recommendation, subject to adding the two jail positions, and thanked commissioners for the opportunity to present the request.