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Sheriff asks for $431 million budget and 41 new positions; commissioners debate funding, MSTU options
Summary
Sheriff John Mina asked the board for a $431 million FY2026 budget, a 12% increase driven largely by personnel costs and requests for 41 new positions. County staff proposed a smaller increase; commissioners debated whether to raise the law‑enforcement MSTU, use reserves or find other offsets.
Sheriff John Mina asked the Orange County Board of County Commissioners on July 17 to approve a $431,000,000 FY2026 budget request — a roughly 12% increase over the current year — that the sheriff said is needed to fund salary increases and hire 41 new positions, including patrol deputies, victim advocates and 911 operators.
Mina called the budget “a request” and urged the board not to fund a smaller package prepared by county staff because, he said, that would translate into hundreds of vacant, unfilled positions and would slow recruitment and retention. “If you don't fund a 125 deputies, it will take us years to catch up from that,” Mina said, warning that underfunding recruitment…
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