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Sheriff Johnson rebukes challenger’s claims and offers documents as commissioners press for procurement transparency
Summary
Sheriff Johnson forcefully denied accusations from a named challenger, presented a December letter confirming his chief deputy's employment history, and invited line‑by‑line review of the sheriff's budget as commissioners and residents urged routine procurement transparency and sharing of check registers.
Sheriff Johnson used his appearance before the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners on Jan. 8 to dispute public accusations about his office, provide a personnel‑history letter, and defend department spending practices as residents called for greater transparency.
"Ricky Cotton's a liar," the sheriff told the board, saying a challenger’s public statements included falsehoods and alleging that the challenger had perjured himself in the past. He handed the board a December 12 letter, attributed in the meeting transcript to Ricky D. Dixon of the Florida Department of Corrections, which the sheriff said confirms Chief Randy Tift’s years of service and states Mr. Tift’s retirement was "not in lieu of disciplinary termination." The sheriff said some public commentary was politically motivated by an anticipated sheriff's race.
Commissioners and members of the public pressed the sheriff on procurement and pay practices. Commissioner questions focused on how the sheriff’s office procures goods and disposes of fleet vehicles; Adam Ward, a public commenter, asked whether the county has performed a comparable pay study and noted what he said was the chief deputy’s salary of about $238,000. "My question is this, have we ever done a comparable study between what the chief deputy ... and other chief deputies around us?" Ward said.
Sheriff Johnson responded that the sheriff's budget is public and that he would welcome review. "My budget's a public record ... Anybody can look at it," he said, adding that his office publishes a check register biweekly (with an exception noted for December) and that he would provide procurement process documentation if the board desired.
Several public speakers urged the board to step in on a separate personnel matter: multiple commenters asked the county to consider paying a long‑serving deputy, Roman Jackson, for earned sick leave that they said was denied. Dustin Rutherford described Jackson as a "good man" and a Purple Heart recipient and asked the board to "consider stepping in on this action."
Board members said they wanted transparency measures to reassure the public. The chair asked whether the sheriff’s procurement policies and vehicle disposal practices could be shared with the board and suggested placing regular check‑register review on future agendas; the sheriff said he would provide the requested materials.
No formal board action or vote on budget oversight or sick‑leave payouts was recorded during the meeting; commissioners asked for documentation and greater transparency and the sheriff agreed to provide procurement and check‑register information to staff and the board.
