Flagler County, Palm Coast discuss 5-year public safety staffing plan; city previously funded nine deputies

PALM COAST, Fla. — Flagler County and Palm Coast officials met March 6 for a joint review of a 2022 staffing study and a proposed five‑year public safety plan that lays out hiring and district‑design options to address an identified deputy shortfall.

The report, produced after a U.S. Department of Justice COPS grant funded a mixed‑method staffing analysis, calculated that the sheriff’s office required a baseline of one deputy for every 308 calls for service and that deputies were 67.5% “obligated” — time already committed to existing calls and duties. The study found the department needs enough officers so that a minimum of 71 deputies are available across a 24‑hour period to meet current demand; Sheriff Staley said the agency currently has 94 sworn deputies.

City Manager Lauren Johnston summarized the study’s methodology: “The Sheriff’s Office received a grant, a community oriented policing service, a COPS grant from the US Department of Justice to conduct a more in‑depth law enforcement staffing study using a mixed methodology approach.” Johnston told the joint meeting the model used pre‑COVID call data, per‑call time calculations and a shift‑relief factor to determine minimum deputies per shift.

Why it matters: Palm Coast accounts for most of the county’s call volume and is a primary funder of enhanced city policing under the current blended model. Officials said the five‑year plan is intended to align hires and funding between the county and the city so the sheriff’s office can eliminate a previously identified deficit of deputies and prepare for geographic growth.

Key findings and figures discussed

- Citizen‑initiated calls for service: the presentation cited roughly 49,844 citizen‑initiated calls in the 2023–24 period and a total of about 117,917 calls for service (citizen‑initiated plus deputy‑initiated activity).

- Baseline metric: the working baseline in the study is one deputy per 308 calls for service (calls ÷ minimum deputies per shift ÷ shift relief factor).

- Current staffing and obligations: the sheriff’s office reported about 94 deputies on staff and an obligated time rate of 67.5%, meaning roughly two‑thirds of a deputy’s time is committed to ongoing duties and not available for additional proactive work.

- Hardware and operations: the sheriff’s office said its real‑time crime center ingests nearly 3,000 private and public camera feeds, uses automatic license‑plate readers (LPRs) for investigative hits, and credited LPRs with recent arrests. The office reported about 5,900 traffic citations issued in 2024 and estimated roughly 12,000 traffic stops annually.

Discussion highlights and disagreements

Officials and the sheriff’s staff repeatedly returned to two topics: how to pay for additional deputies, and how to measure demand going forward.

- Funding split and cost: Councilman Miller asked how Palm Coast’s funding related to its 80% share of call volume; Sheriff Staley explained the county’s blended model provides a baseline of countywide service while Palm Coast pays for enhanced city services. Staley estimated that running an independent municipal police department properly staffed could cost “probably $30,000,000” annually, versus roughly $10,000,000 under the current contract (figures given as estimates by the sheriff).

- School resource officers: Staley described the current funding mix for school resource deputies as roughly 40% funded by the school board, 10% by the city of Palm Coast and 50% by the county, and he urged changes to the state funding allocation for “safe schools” money that does not reflect the post‑Parkland mandate to staff schools.

- Growth and districting: the sheriff’s office said it is designing a fourth patrol district aimed at the anticipated growth north of U.S. 1 and the west side of Palm Coast; the office hopes to implement a partial District 4 in January 2026. Officials emphasized the new district would not be a full city‑level district initially because land use and population do not yet justify full staffing.

Decisions, directions and next steps

- Past funding recorded: the city of Palm Coast previously funded nine deputies during the current fiscal cycle (five funded for a full year, four funded for six months). Officials noted the six‑month funding structure will create a budget impact in the following fiscal year when those four deputies move to full‑year funding.

- Implementation planning: the sheriff’s office is completing design work for a fourth district to reflect growth patterns and said additional deputies recommended in the study could be phased to eliminate the previously identified deficit by fiscal year 2027 if the recommended contributions from city and county continue.

- Impact fees: the groups agreed to revisit local impact fees after Dec. 6, 2025, the earliest date allowed by state law changes referenced at the meeting; county staff and the city will workshop the item and the county will carry the study responsibility for impact‑fee updates.

Quotes

“The Sheriff’s Office received a grant, a community oriented policing service, a COPS grant from the US Department of Justice to conduct a more in‑depth law enforcement staffing study using a mixed methodology approach,” Lauren Johnston said.

“When I was elected sheriff in 2017, there were five dedicated deputies for traffic enforcement. We added three additional motorcycles last fiscal year … so that’s a 216% increase on traffic enforcement since 2017,” Sheriff Staley said while outlining enforcement and equipment changes.

Context and caveats

Officials cautioned that hiring to match the study depends on calls‑for‑service trends. Sheriff Staley and staff noted citizen‑initiated calls rose in the years after 2019 but that year‑to‑year increases have moderated; the office said if calls stop rising, later-year hires in the five‑year plan (those after 2027) could be reduced. Staley also said differences in crime type matter: some areas — particularly barrier islands and Flagler Beach — generate many quality‑of‑life calls rather than serious crimes, which affects staffing priorities.

The sheriff and staff highlighted technology (LPRs, real‑time crime center and private camera feeds) as contributors to public‑safety outcomes but warned that preventative enforcement cannot entirely replace the need for staff if population and call volumes continue to grow.

Ending

Officials said they will continue planning hires with the city and county and will revisit the staffing plan and call‑volume data in 2027 to guide 2028–29 budget decisions. No formal vote or ordinance was taken at the March 6 joint meeting.