Committee approves emergency JSO funding after shooting at Sulzbacher urban rest stop

The Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety Committee approved an emergency appropriation on March 3 to fund Jacksonville Sheriff's Office overtime at the Sulzbacher Center following a January shooting on its campus.

The committee approved the emergency appropriation, item 2025-164, by voice and then by a recorded ballot vote of 6-0. The bill appropriates $100,000 to JSO for immediate overtime salary costs to maintain officer presence at Sulzbacher's Urban Rest Stop area.

Councilmember Ron Salem, who sponsored the emergency appropriation, told the committee Sulzbacher board leaders asked for money after an incident in which five shots were fired on campus on Jan. 27. "They had an incident out there and needed some extra security, police officer on the Sulzbacher ground," Salem said earlier when explaining why funds were shifted. Salem later told the committee he had located $100,000 and that Sulzbacher would need to find an additional $30,000 for the full amount they requested.

Cindy Funkhouser, who identified herself in public remarks and gave Sulzbacher's campus address, described the history of the Urban Rest Stop as a city partnership begun under a prior mayoral task force. She said the rest stop was designed as a daytime location for people experiencing homelessness and that Jacksonville Sheriff's Office presence was a condition of the original campus arrangement. "We absolutely need JSO on our campus to make sure it's a deterrent," Funkhouser told the committee, explaining that staff and volunteers felt unsafe after the shooting and that the center has seen increased strain since the Mental Health Resource Center moved off campus.

Funkhouser said the urban rest stop serves between 100 and 150 people daily and that without it those individuals would be dispersed into downtown. She told the committee the center has been operating for years on a flat $270,000 city allocation and that costs have increased since COVID-era funding diminished.

Council members expressed support for the emergency action. Councilmember Michael Boylan said he supported Sulzbacher's request and urged the administration to include long-term funding in next year's budget. Councilmember Jimmy Peluso, Councilmember Matt Carlucci and others joined Salem in cosponsoring the emergency appropriation on the floor. Auditors noted that after this $100,000 appropriation there will be about $10,000 remaining in the council contingency fund once other items pending were taken into account.

The motion was approved 6-0; committee members asked Sulzbacher and the administration to identify longer-term funding before the next budget cycle. Salem said the appropriation was intended as a stop-gap measure through the end of the fiscal year, and that Sulzbacher would need to find additional funding for any beyond-October 1 staffing or overtime needs.