Pasco Sheriff seeks funding for insurance, contracts and aircraft; Volusia offers two Bell 407s at $4.2M

Undersheriff briefed the board on the sheriff’s operating budget and future capital needs on April 15, urging support for health/self‑insurance funding, contract escalators and aviation replacements while outlining a drone-dot pilot program for faster first-response surveillance.

Key budget and capability points - Current budget and composition: The sheriff’s office reported a total FY24–25 budget of about $170.156 million, of which roughly 80% is salaries (including $11.5 million for insurance), 19% operating (about $32 million for IT, fleet, training, etc.) and about 1% capital (roughly $2 million). The agency reported vacancies of about 16 sworn deputies and about 40 civilian positions. - New‑revenue uses: Based on county projections and the long-standing 40% new-revenue allocation formula, the sheriff estimated $8–9 million in available new revenue. He said priorities would include fully funding self‑insurance ($2 million estimate), covering contract and equipment escalators (estimate $4.5 million) and an as-yet‑unknown increase tied to state-mandated retirement costs. - Salaries and retention: The sheriff’s office reiterated that retention and starting pay are crucial to avoiding recruitment and training costs and noted neighboring jurisdictions offer sign‑on incentives; the agency is prioritizing raises and retention to limit churn.

Aviation, Hueys and helicopters - Earlier board action and new offer: The board previously authorized up to $7.5 million to purchase aircraft. Undersheriff reported Volusia Sheriff’s Office offered to sell two Bell 407s directly to Pasco for $4.2 million, significantly below the previously referenced figure. Undersheriff asked the board to allow the agency to amend the aviation budget to $4.5 million to cover purchase and startup costs (training, paint) and to keep one Federal Wildlife Commission Huey in county service until its end of life. The agency said it would return any proceeds from sales or parts to the county after transactions complete. - Huey return condition: One Huey provided to the agency through a federal program is not in flyable condition and would cost about $250,000 to return to the federal program in the condition received; the agency described a path of converting the unneeded Huey for parts if the county retains a flyable FWC Huey.

Drones and first-responder technology - Drone-dot pilot: The sheriff described a trial drone-dot placed at an early-learning academy to test first-responder use. He recounted a recent incident where a missing juvenile was located using the dot, allowing a drone on site within two minutes and directing deputies precisely to the person’s location. The office estimated strategic drone-dot deployment would require capital (the presentation cited $750,000 as a planning/initial deployment figure) but could reduce some helicopter flight hours and improve response times.

Other capital needs - Radios and vehicle electronics: The agency flagged future needs for vehicle radios and integration work because modern vehicles require more complex radio installations and replacement costs are rising.

Board direction and next steps - The commission had previously authorized up to $7.5 million for aircraft; staff said they will implement the lower‑cost acquisition path with Volusia and work with county administration to finalize budget amendments and aircraft readiness work. The sheriff’s office said it will continue to pursue shared health/self-insurance options with county and school district partners.

Ending - The undersheriff thanked the board for prior support and asked for authorization to pursue the $4.5 million aviation start-up request and to return proceeds from any parts or surplus sales to the county.