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Escambia Budget Talks Begin: Sheriff Wants Extra $5 Million
July 9, 2014
Escambia County opened budget talks for the upcoming fiscal year, and the requests made today include an extra $5 million plus for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff David Morgan wants the extra money to put more deputies on the streets, increase salaries and benefits, and meet rising fuel costs.
New Escambia County Administrator Jack Brown’s proposed budget as presented to Escambia County Commissioners Tuesday includes an extra $1.07 million for the ECSO so Morgan’s employees can receive a 3 percent cost of living adjustment like other county employees.
Morgan wants a total budget increase of $5.24 million — which includes the $1.07 cost of living adjustment, $300,000 for fuel budget increases and about $4.9 million for 15 new deputies and for the Sheriff’s Office to begin providing holiday and overtime pay to employees like other county departments. Currently, Sheriff’s Office employees are required to bank overtime worked.
“For example, the ice storm,” ESCO Chief Deputy Eric Haines told commissioners, “all the people that worked that received overtime that worked at the county, fire, EMS. Our deputies had to work and man all those bridges all night, and they got nothing.”
“We’ll sit down, and we’ll do due diligence on both sides, and we’ll compare benefit packages and stuff,” Brown said. “I think the Board, and I know I am certainly committed to equity. And making sure make sure you are talking about oranges versus oranges not apples and tangerines.”
As for the 15 extra deputies, Haines said it would take about 60-70 new deputies to bring Escambia County up to the state per capita level. He said the ECSO will continue to ask for 15 new funded deputies per year until that level is reached.
“I think there is an appetite for making sure that we provide additional resources in some form or fashion,” Commissioner Lumon May said.
May stressed it was important to him to make sure Morgan had the resources needed to protect citizens on the streets.
“It’’s important to me to have deputies on the ground. It’s important to me to have narcotic units. Most of these crimes are quite frankly gang related or drug related,” May said. “We have to get aggressive and put our resources where you do get aggressive.”
Comments
17 Responses to “Escambia Budget Talks Begin: Sheriff Wants Extra $5 Million”
It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out how to save some gas in the SO. First, I’d buy some fuel efficient cars instead of the gas guzzling SUV”s. Second, I’d restrict take home cars to deputes that that choose to live in the county that pays their salary. All the arguments for taking cars home hold no credibility when the car is parked in front of a house or apartment in Santa Rosa County. Then, I’d ask the question; Is the benefit derived from having a car to get back and forth to work in figured into the wage and benefit package of SO officers? I’d bet they are comparing their base salaries to departments that have no take home cars. On cost of living raises, how many of the people that pay taxes to support the SO are unemployed or have had their wages and hours cut due to the economy? Wake up Sheriff Morgan, it’s time to look at ways of cutting costs instead of spending more money.
Expert that I am in law enforcement….
Wait. I’m not an expert, so anything I say is questionable.
Never stopped me before.
So let’s see. They call it an increase in cost of living. I call it devaluation of the value of money, but the result is the same. Need more money to stay where you were.
Cost of fuel went up. Need more money for the same amount of fuel.
If people see law enforcement vehicles, they are less likely to commit crimes openly. Therefore the more the merrier for vehicles, as money allows. If we could afford it, we should supply every janitor and secretary with the vehicles. Unlikely, but if we COULD, it should reduce crime.
Training should be ongoing. Train to get along rather than consider everybody a vic, perp or LEO. Train to arrest — when necessary — safely and in such a manner that errors do not result mistrials or false arrests.
Keep 360° cameras in every patrol car, recording everything around them at all times and stored where it can not be wiped and is subject to review by any citizen. Any attempt to disable should be presumed grounds for firing and release of related suspects. THIS would build reasonable trust and appropriate convictions.
Or so it seems to me.
David for The People
On the fence on this one.
What really irks me is, driving down I-10, seeing the deputies drop their kids off at school in patrol cars, and their kids playing on the deputies “official” laptop.
See it all the time. Driving their kids to and from ball practice in patrol vehicle…
Where is the line drawn? As for pay, don’t whine about how much or how little they make in comparison to any other municipality…They choose to work there, and know what they will make $. If they don’t like it, then find another job, like the rest of us would…?
CC, I was thinking the exact same thing about deputies taking the cars home. I read a couple of studies on the matter. The ones I read seemed a little unscientific, and make some apples to oranges comparisons, but it turns out it is more cost-effective to take them home.
It has to do with the reduced operating costs, better maintenance, and reduced labor costs to put the vehicle into service each day. Those cost savings more than offset the increase in fuel costs.
I don’t believe the claims of crime deterrence were proven in the studies I looked at, but there seems to be an overall economic benefit.
Sometimes I think sheriff Morgan believes he’s operating a small army instead of a sheriff’s department. I see 6 or 7 deputies every morning sitting at the Chick-fil-a on 9 mile road for at least an hour drinking coffee and chatting. Today most sheriff’s deputies are on a power trip and trample all over our constitutional rights because they know they can get away with it. To believe we need more of this is insane!!
It amazes me the bad ideas presented below. Lets put 10 police in a car and have them drive their personal cars on duty. We could save tons. Unbelievable.
Lets provide adequate funding, let the professionals do their jobs. If they fail we fire them and find someone who can succeed.
Concerned Citizen – Then do you want to make up the money by paying the Deputies more instead of them driving home in a Patrol Car? This is part of their “Package” when they are hired and to try and change it would require their pay be increased. They do not make enough money as it is, so I have NO Problem with them Driving Patrol Cars to their home. And CC…the rest of the “Citizens” are not putting their Lives on the Line every time they go to work! They do a job that few want, for pay that is not up to par to start with.
@Concerned Citizen
The presence of a patrol car at the deputies’ houses deter crime in their neighborhood. I’m sure their neighbors don’t mind that at all. Also, when deputies are on call, would you rather they had to drive to the station to pick up their vehicle, and then respond to the scene?
I’m totally fine with deputies driving their vehicles home. Should they drive it to run errands? No.
I appreciate all law enforcement and want to thank them for the thankless job they do to keep us all safe every day. Kudos to Sheriff Morgan on asking for money for his deputies and increasing the severely understaffed ECSO. When your murder/drug/gang related crimes are as high as ours, you need all the help you can get.
I feel the Sheriff’s office could save dramatically on saving gas purchases is to discontinue the deputies from driving the patrol cars home every day. I see more Escambia County Deputy vehicles in Santa Rosa county at their personal homes. Leave the county vehicles at the police station when they are off work and require the deputies to buy their own gas at their expense to commute to work and home like the rest of the citizens. All I ever hear is well, they get to drive the vehicles home to offset the lack of pay they receive. Not an valid excuse, in my opinion. The rest of the citizens don’t get gas allowances to go to and from work. Maybe then there would not be so many vehicles needed as well since they could be used for an entire shift instead of sitting in their personal driveways every day and night during “OFF” hours.
I am with the idea of not bad-mouthing our Sheriff. He has a huge amount of responsibility! As for saving money – the first thing he did in office was nix some of the projects the McNesby had on tap (through the good ole boy network) and got rid of the extra helicopter. He does try to save money, but you do need money to pay people and maintain infrastructure. Good job Sheriff!
Paul – Most areas do not patrol with two Officers in a vehicle unless they patrol a very bad section of their coverage area where backup is almost always required. I agree with the ECSO Deputy as to it hurting Coverage and boots on the ground. What you may gain in Gas Savings would be blown in the lack of coverage. I am all for staying one to a car and getting better coverage for our area. What we need, is MORE Deputies and getting them paid so their families can live a normal life without second and third jobs.
I totally agree with Everett.
These officers who risk their lives on every shift should be the first priority
Please stop bad mouthing Sheriff Morgan. He has a hugh responsibility and could use the support from all law abiding citizens instead of criticism.
Sheriff Morgan is again doing a great job of convincing the public that he needs more money to fund more deputies, which is true. What he is not telling the public is the supervisor-to-deputy ratio at the ECSO. Morgan has over-promoted since he took office in 2008 and continues to do so. Let’s see if he will tell the public what this ratio is. I can tell you that it is way higher than any other law enforcement agency in Florida. Maybe if he would stop over promoting there would be money available to pay the rank and file. Morgan is a master spin doctor. Hasn’t he been telling the public that crime is down in Escambia County? Now, it seems when he wants to justify his ineptness, it has suddenly increased to a level where he needs more money and more deputies. The truth is that there has been more turn over at the ECSO due to Morgan’s management than ever before. Which way is it Thelbert? Crime is either down or up? You can’t have it both ways. Anyone who lives in Escambia County that reads this website, the Pensacola News Journal, or watches TV, certainly can’t believe his spin that crime is down. Does he think everyone is that stupid? Morgan is short of personnel because deputies are getting fed up with his reign and leaving. A significant number of deputies are leaving and taking a cut in pay when they do. The high and mighty sheriff will of course respond to this post with his normal ration of bull that many of the public blindly believe. It ain’t true folks….deputies are just tired of not being able to do their jobs. Morgan has created an atmosphere at the sheriff’s office that can best be described as “hug a thug”.
Commissioner May and the other Commissioners, please do not buy into Morgan’s claim that most of the violent crime is gang related in Escambia County. If that is the case, why did the sheriff disband the gang unit? Again, Thelbert, which way is it? Big gang problem or not? Then why no gang unit? Ask the sheriff how many reports have been coded as gang related in the past 4 years? Morgan has no idea of street related in crime in Escambia County.
Morgan made a lot of promises to be an active sheriff when first elected, but he seems to spend a considerable amount of time arguing with whichever Commissioner has drawn his ire for the week or fighting an imagined political enemy. Remember in 2016. ABM……Anyone But Morgan and let’s elect a sheriff that will address the serious crime problem with some actual law enforcement experience.
Putting two deputies in one car might seem to save gas, but you will basically cut the number of officers on the street in half because now you have two deputies doing work that normally one can do. We so send two deputies to many calls, but once the scene is under control, the second goes on to other calls. Furthermore, if you have two different cars, they can covering two different parts of the county and decrease the time it takes to get a deputy on scene. Very few agencies patrol with two in a car.
He should also look into ways to save money.. I don’t know why they can’t put two deputies in those SUV’s and save the cost of another vehicle, insurance and fuel.. They almost always send a backup and with two in the vehicle one can drive while the other is online
Lets take 4 cent sales tax we are giving to ECAT and give it to the ECSO.
While I am totally against Morgan, I am for the Deputies being able to actually get Paid for Overtime and not having to bank it. They also deserve the 3% Raise, as they are some of the lowest paid in the State. There needs to be someone in the Office of Sheriff that actually knows Law Enforcement and will leave their Overgrown Ego at the door! I don’t care what Morgan did in the Military, as it is surely not transferring over to Civilian Law Enforcement and Crime Prevention!