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Sheriff Requests $95 Million Budget, Up $18.8 Million
May 1, 2013
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan has submitted his 2013-2014 budget to the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners — a $95 million budget that is about $18.8 million more than last year.
The $95,057,838 budget is split into three areas:
Law Enforcement: $50,773,658
Detention: $40,251,178
Court Security: $4,033,002
The $18,864,552 increase over last year, without any staffing level changes, includes:
Decrease in salaries — $37,872
Decrease in FICA taxes — $10,547
Increase in retirement contributions — $1,234,854 (due to state rate increases)
Increase in health and life insurance — $703,558
Increase in workman’s comp – $15,283
Additionally, the increase includes:
Hiring 83 detention deputies and 12 detention assistants – $6,324,157
Increase starting detention deputy pay (2%) to Road Prison deputy pay – $658,409
Morgan cites a Jail Staffing Study that calls for the increase in detention deputies and assistants. Morgan’s request states that in Monday conversation with a Department of Justice attorney, a DOJ investigation into the jail is focusing on Jail Staffing Study in preparing their final report.
And, finally, Morgan’s budget increase includes:
Paying ESCO employees holidays like BOCC employees - $3,952,930
Paying ESCO employees overtime like BOCC employees - $4,340,002
Morgan’s request to the BOCC notes that there is no request for 44 additional deputies to meet the state average number of officers per 1,000 deputies. That would cost, the sheriff wrote, another $4,285,190.
The next fiscal year will mark seven years since ECSO employees have received a three-percent pay increase, Morgan noted.
Comments
16 Responses to “Sheriff Requests $95 Million Budget, Up $18.8 Million”
I think the BOCC should give him what the ECSD got last year LESS 20%…
To our friendly commenter above, “Pretrial Services” is the biggest smoke and mirrors game known to humanity. It takes advantage of a needy citizenry and fails to solve the underlying, proximate cause. “Pretrial Services” will cost taxes payers in direct expenses and indirect expenses not EVER calculated by the fancy reports that often recommend these programs. The Sheriff would be better served to simply open up the doors and let the inmates out and save the cost of “Pretrial Services”. Washington DC is one of the few cities that utilizes almost strictly this system and they cost the tax payers almost $100 million per year and their results are no better than any other release option. “Pretrial Services” is a Criminal Welfare system that likes to propagate separate but equal standards.
The REAL solution is to stop arresting people for offenses that are not deemed criminal by society. We need to stop allowing the court system to act and focus on strictly monetary goals. To say that we arrest too may people, so why have any accountability…is not intelligent. How well do you believe that people follow the speed limit if there were no speeding tickets? How many people would pay speeding tickets if warrants were not issued? How about if no one would arrest you if you were stopped and found to have a warrant for a speeding ticket? This what “Pretrial Services” is, while LYING to the public about how it saves money. Pretrrial’s propaganda machine needs to stop and needs to start being held accountable for the people that are being killed around the country because they want to release people from jail with no supervision and no accountability.
Ok Fishhook even though I agree they need a raise tell me where it comes from? If you make 30,000 a year and your bills are 30,000 a year where do you get the money? It’s not that everyone doesn’t think they need a raise its just how do you pay for it year after year.
Maybe one of the idiots has some ideas?
You idiots that don’t want to see an increase for the sheriff dept. only need to spend a day in the CO shoes. Once you work only one shift you would hauling butt down to the BOCC and demanding a raise for these officers and good one at that. It is easy to set outside and judge someone else’s job and think they got it made. But the truth is there ant no one lining up at the door to apply for these jobs. You sat in a room by yourself with 80+ criminals that can’t stand you guts and you let your guard down for a second and it would been on. Just remember that you would be locked in that room with 80+ criminals with help 30 seconds to a couple of minutes away. Remember these people ant saints and most surely don’t go to church and surely can’t be trusted. Never mind you haven’t had a raise in seven years, come on that surely ant fair to anyone. Some might even say that if they don’t like they could find another job, good who’s going to watch them now. If this is a job you want to do there’s openings, if this is a job you say you would never do then you need to give them a raise. Make your choice
“PUT UP OR SHUT UP”
So many good thoughts. Add in the fact that the BCC would like to help its employees that have gone as long without a raise and it should be a very entertaining Budget Season.
Unfortunately!
Leave balances accrued upon years of service by detention officers, who have not been granted the opportunity to use them, are being paid at 50 cents on the dollar. However, this is only a portion of their leave, as approved in the contract. The rest of the leave is forfeited.
As for jail staffing, I want to be a secretary under Morgan and make $50,000 a year; every person who is anybody, is assigned a secretary.
As for jail staffing of detention officers, each detention shift has a required minimum manning which has yet to be met. These shortages cause a public safety hazard, not to mention an officer safety hazard.
This is all public record, and Morgan addressed some of these issues this morning on Talk Radio.
@ David,
It gets to the point, though where doing more with less endangers lives. If you’ve not worked corrections, you have no idea.
The joke where I work is, “I’ve done so much with so little for so long I am now qualified to do anything with nothing.” It takes money to conduct a criminal justice organization, especially considering that men and women in both the police force and the corrections arena risk their lives daily for peanuts and poor working conditions.
Good Job, Sheriff. Always trying to take care of his employees so they can take care of the citizens of this county.
I wished I could ask for that percentage of increase for my pay check and then when I don’t get my way..threaten to contact the governor
Like my boss says..do more with less anymore..
Mr. Morgan needs to adhere to what we all have to do in the world..suck it up and stop the drama
@ taxpayer:
While the jail population has decreased from the extremely high count in 2004 to a somewhat lower levels seen in 1999, the employee staffing levels have also fallen. Many of the positions were left unfilled to shift taxpayer dollars from salaries to operating costs. Shifts that were once staffed at 36 lines officers now staff 28 officers. Due to the constant departure of employees these same shifts average only 28 officers – Currently one shift only has 22 officers, the remaining 3 have 26 officers.
The classification unit currently has 1 civilian, 2 line officers and 1 supervisor to conduct the initial classification and then subsequent reviews required monthly by accreditation standards. While the daily population average 1400+ the actual number of reviews is extremely higher as each arrest that results in someone being held overnight will require classification oversight. The actual numbers of arrestees passing thru and having classifications review is extremely higher.
The laundry operates with 2 civilians and 3 Line Officers.Inmates are used to move laundry items from washer to dryer and then fold….somebody has to pick up and deliver clean laundry to those 1400+ people. By FMJS standards that’s clean bed linen weekly, clean jumpsuits twice weekly, and clean personals twice weekly. Ever done laundry for 1400 people in a week?
Custodial services operates with a total of 5 civilian employees. One is used to maintain floor in both detention facilities. There are two custodial employees in each facility. The jail once had 17 civilians doing the job these 5 people do now. Each one of these civilians oversee a group of inmates workers who help perform the cleaning activities. These 5 people generally conduct cleanup in the common area’s while inmates clean their living areas.
Noted were three areas. Each extremely understaffed. To assists these three areas require assistance from security personnel. Their assistance to ensure job tasks are completed (night, weekends, holidays) . When security personnel must assist assist with the above noted functions, it limits just what can be done in supervising/watching those incarcerated. How effective can 1 officer be in watching 70 to 96 inmates? Quite often thats the ratio 1 officer supervising 70 to 96 inmates.
When citizens complain we should reduce bonds and shorten sentence’s, these are the same citizens screaming why did this guy only have a $50,000 when he should have been locked under the jail. Or, complaining that the career criminal only received a short sentence instead of doing life for his crime. Take the time to review the clerk of the court website and look at the number of prior arrest and convictions those being booked each day possess. Its a never ending cycle. Far too often those being arrested have committed far more crimes than what can be proven they committed. If anything I am more in favor of higher bonds and longer sentences. To many of our fellow citizens would prefer to steal than earn a living.
This only touches the tip of the iceberg. The need in the jail is great. Many simply could not fathom the daily events that are being accomplished considering the longevity of understaffing within the facility. The Criminal Justice study commissioned by the BOC and the pending DOJ report will highlight the extreme need for additional personnel.
Facts are this, there are too many Chiefs running around the Sheriff’s Office and not enough people “working.” There are several Cpt’s and Lt’s sitting around the Sheriff’s Office literally just milking the system. Most have over 30 years and need to retire, freeing up some money to hire road deputies. (Tharp, Cox, Trushell, Bates, Barnes)
If many of you will recall the Sheriff started a mandatory desk to road program years back; putting more officers on the streets from behind their desks and increased Law Enforcement presence. After re-election this is no longer occurring. The Sheriff has now stated in a muster that the Deputies are not to chase anyone for anything because he just realized that he could be personally sued. The Sheriff has taken away every aspect of apprehension, no helicopter, no chases, so all the bad guys walk… You can say be a smarter cop, but when there is no CSI in real life. Fingerprints/DNA and other evidence revealing techniques take weeks or longer to come back.
On another note there is no need for this money, maybe the Sheriff needs to trim the fat…. There would be less insurance cost if the Sheriff would make a mandatory fitness test, most of these Deputies are overweight and this increases health care costs. Someone truly needs to investigate this Department; there is a lot behind the scenes the community would be appalled at.
Jail staffing is so low in the jail that officers are unable to get leave approved because supervisors are unable to grant such things if staffing goes to low. This is a fact. The result is deputies unable to burn their leave.
The jail study is just one element evolved in this budget. Lets take another look at our deputies, as a whole in this county have not seen a “raise” in 7 years. A deputy makes 34,000 a year with no over time, try surviving off of that. This means that deputies that were hired 7 years ago make less now than 7 years ago because of deductions.
I know nothing is perfect and no single budget will make anyone on ether side happy but our officers are extremely under paid for what they do. Our sheriffs office has an extremely high turnover rate because of pay. If a deputy gets 2 years of experience and just switching agencies, it will gain them on the average a 10,000 raise. This is another fact if you check pay around the state. Most if not all agencies within the state have step programs to reward the loyal officer with good marks to increase pay which Escambia County does not have.
Deputies are so short on the road that they can rarely work in a pro-active manor (which means patrolling, traffic stops, and looking for crime within our crime ridden neighborhoods).
I encourage anyone to compare the calls for service with other neighboring counties and you will see a huge difference. All calls for service are public records and each one is logged, when you call the Sheriff’s Office and have a deputy respond that is a “call for service”. Almost 40,000 reports were written in 2012 by officers and investigators with the department. Compare that to neighboring counties. If you check Santa Rosa for instance, you will see about 17000 offense reports were logged.
These are just some facts I have found looking around.
the jail population has dropped significantly since the initial report was commissioned in 2008, so why are detention budget and detention staffing increases being requested ? according to the florida department of corrections (fdoc) website – the inmate population in september 2008 (the date that the consultants report was due) was 1,925 inmates. In january 2013, the inmate population was 1,407. the jail population has steadily and significantly declined since 2008, and interestingly. the jail population today is at same level as it was in year 1999. see these facts for yourself – fdoc average inmate population reports (years 1994 to 2013) – http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/jails/
if the county is truly serious about reducing jail expenditures and saving money, then the county needs to focus its attention on the courts, the courts are the main driver of detention costs because judges, not the sheriff, directly control the length of inmate incarceration. in a sense, judges are given an open checkbook, because they control bail amounts, control sentence length, and most importantly, control the time it takes to dispose of cases (inmates arrested in 2010 and 2011 are still occupying jail beds). all three components have direct impact on the length of time an inmate sits in the jail. judges can and should reduce the number of days they take to dispose of their active cases. judges can and should significantly reduce bail amounts and number of inmates with no bonds at all (which historically are higher than most other counties and many times excessive). and judges can and should reduce jail sentences by 3% – 5% as small reductions pose no public safety problems, would save the county millions, and significantly reduce the budget/staffing needs desired by the sheriff. ps – pretrial services could easily manage a much larger population of defendants without increasing its budget.
last part … too many officers not enough lower paid depuyies
>>I’m confused. In one paragraph it says the Sheriff is asking for an 18 million dollar increase without increasing staffing levels, and the next paragraph goes on to talk about hiring 95 new employees. Is he just replacing employees that left or are they really new jobs?
You have in the increases/decreases listed by his photo first…basically he’s saying “if we don’t hire/fire anyone, our employee costs are changing in this manner”, then he includes the hiring of 95 new jail employees.
I’m confused. In one paragraph it says the Sheriff is asking for an 18 million dollar increase without increasing staffing levels, and the next paragraph goes on to talk about hiring 95 new employees. Is he just replacing employees that left or are they really new jobs?