JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters says he will not consider lowering his office’s budget request for next year, even though it seeks nearly 38 million dollars more than the current JSO budget.
Of that nearly $38 million, JSO wants to allocate nearly $27.6 million to Police Services.
And of that $27.6 million ...roughly $17.8 million would go towards personnel costs and roughly $10.4 million would be for operating expenses.
“When we run an organization with 3,500 plus employees, you have to pay them. And I’ll stress this once again, over 80% of our budget is salary and benefits. There’s a huge portion of that that’s operating costs that we have to pay,” said Sheriff Waters. “We’re not over-asking. We didn’t ask for anything last year. We’re not asking for much this year. So it’s very important for us to be able to take care of that.”
JSO is asking for the increased spending, despite the recent budget concerns for the city, and it looks like that request will be honored.
We reached out to both the Mayor’s office and City Council President Nick Howland and asked about Sheriff Waters’ budget request in light of the city’s finance questions.
The mayor’s office replied saying:
“We have been in constant communication with JSO throughout the budget review process and anticipate they will be pleased with the budget that is proposed to the City Council.”
Council President Howland replied saying:
“The core responsibility of local government is to keep our streets and neighborhoods safe. I have consistently supported fully funding public safety and ensuring the men and women of JSO have the resources they need to do their job. I will continue to do so as Council President.”
We reached out to JSO to specify what the money for personnel costs and operating expenses would go towards.
They are working on providing us a response.
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