Broward County sheriff slams ‘underfunded’ budget in letter to mayor
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include the mayor’s response.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (FLV) – Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony wrote a letter to Broward County Mayor Lamar Fisher criticizing the county’s “underfunded” budget recommendation.
“As the duly elected sheriff of Broward County, I have an obligation to bring my concerns to your attention,” Tony said. “It should be noted, these concerns are separate and apart from the $4,513,758 underfunded budget for Regional Communications for the fiscal year 2023-2024.”
“I want to make it clear; I will not lay off any critical Communications Operators to meet the arbitrary budget recommendation provided by County Administration,” he continued.
In response to the letter, the mayor said he is “confident” that the county will support a fiscally responsible budget that “demonstrates our commitment to public safety.”
In the 2023-2024 proposed budget, a point of dispute is the Broward County Sheriff’s Office recommendation for 70 new positions. The County Administration is in favor of 30 requested positions being funded.
In contrast, Tony stated that the county is proposing to fund an additional 118 new core positions while negating the sheriff’s recommendations.
A year prior, the sheriff’s office requested funding for 45 new positions and zero were granted.
“Public Safety is and always will be our highest priority. We look forward to hearing from the Sheriff during our ongoing budget process in September,” said Mayor Lamar P. Fisher in a statement to Florida’s Voice.
“The increased amount the Sheriff is concerned over can and should be addressed during this process. In the end, I’m confident that we will support a budget that is fiscally responsible and demonstrates our commitment to public safety in Broward County,” he added.
The negotiation history between both sides is nothing new.
In the letter, Tony highlighted a history of the department being underfunded over the past five years. The county administration has funded 360 core positions for itself while the sheriff’s 126 requests have only drawn funding for 48 new positions.
Emphasizing its need on public safety, a number of Tony’s priority positions in the sheriff’s proposed budget have been deemed “non-essential” by the county administration, according to the letter.
Those positions include:
- Behavioral Health Licensed Therapists
- Deputies assigned to BSO’s Threat Management Unit within the Real Time Crime Center
- Burglary Apprehension Unit
- Firefighters
- Paramedics
Fully funding these positions represents a public investment of $4,847,098, per Tony’s statement.
The sheriff said neither his team or the county administrator had any discussions regarding the funding recommendations prior to the county publishing their Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Message.
According to the letter, negotiations between county administration officials and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office scheduled for Wednesday were abruptly cancelled at the request the County Administrator without any explanation given.
