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Sheriff’s office seeks added deputies and highlights inmate programs as costs rise
Summary
Flagler County Sheriff’s staff outlined staffing increases, inmate vocational and reentry programs, and rising personnel costs (including health insurance). The office cited a multi‑year manpower study and requested phased hires; the board asked for ROI and program cost details.
Mark Strobridge, chief of staff for the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, presented the office’s FY27 highlights and said staffing requests are tied to a third-year manpower study agreed with Palm Coast. The sheriff’s office reported increases in detention and law-enforcement budgets and emphasized inmate programs—GED, culinary, HVAC and electrical vocational training—and reentry initiatives that the sheriff says reduce recidivism and support workforce development.
Strobridge said the sheriff secured about $3.3 million in grant funding this past year and described volunteer and inmate labor contributions that offset some costs. He also flagged rising operating expenses, including a large insurance and health-cost increase that is driving personnel-related budget pressure.
By metric, Strobridge said a newly hired deputy’s all-in cost can be approximately $166,000 (training, vehicle, equipment and benefits). The sheriff’s office proposed phased hiring (partial-year funding) to bring additional deputies online without fully funding all positions for a full year in the first budget cycle; commissioners noted, however, that partial-year hiring still produces full-year budget implications in subsequent years.
Commissioners asked about several specifics: the proposed helicopter’s annual operating estimate (~$250,000), how FTE transfers to the county affected the sheriff’s ongoing budget, the ROI on formerly grant-funded programs now becoming recurring obligations, and where aviation and program costs appear in the sheriff’s budget lines. The sheriff’s office agreed to provide ROI metrics and further breakout of program and aviation costs for board review.
No formal action was taken; commissioners acknowledged the public-safety trade-offs and asked staff for more detailed fiscal and program-level reporting before budget decisions.
