Think times are tough all over.....

Sheriff proposes deep cuts in budget
Plan includes hiring freeze, no overtime

BY CHRISTOPHER CURRY
STAR-BANNER

OCALA - Sheriff Ed Dean unveiled a plan to his advisory committee Tuesday that would cut more than $2.3 million from the current year's budget of approximately $76.6 million.

The plan includes a hiring freeze covering 45 vacancies and the elimination of overtime.

The plan also includes charging $1,200 a year to employees who take their department vehicles home. Corrections officers will lose the $1,000 disparity pay they receive because they can't take department vehicles home.

Employees who take vehicles home also will be charged 15 cents a mile if they drive the vehicles for personal uses, such as security detail at events.

"We're balancing the budget on the backs of the people who work here," Chief Deputy Towles Bigelow told the committee. "The people who work here are going to have to help balance the budget."

There are 424 department vehicles that employees may drive home, and some of the employees may elect to stop doing that instead of paying the $1,200.

Dan Kuhn, one of the agency's three chief deputies, said the take-home policy increases the visibility of law enforcement. "There's no way to put a price tag on how many crimes you may have deterred by driving your vehicle down the street home," he said.

The hiring freeze also includes 10 new deputy positions in this year's budget to cover population growth.

Dean said the cuts were a series of decisions he was "loath" to make, and it was "unheard of" for a law enforcement agency to eliminate overtime. But he said he was doing it to cooperate with the County Commission, which requested that all the constitutional officers - sheriff, tax collector, property appraiser, court clerk and elections supervisor - cut 5.3 percent of the money they receive from the general fund, and for County Administrator Pat Howard to slash more than $2 million.

Commissioners requested a $1.57 million cut from the Sheriff's Office; the other $750,000 cut will free up money to cover the costs of off-site medical treatment, such as hospital visits, for jail inmates.

Behind all the county cuts for this fiscal year is a Budget Department estimate that Marion County will get $4.9 million less than expected in state-shared revenues - mostly sales taxes.

Things are rough over at the Marion County School Board as well. Superintendent Jim Yancey said public schools will need to cut $12 million in programs next year. The district's total budget is $677 million.

Dean said that under his cuts, "nobody loses their job, no essential service is cut."

He said state law prohibits the County Commission from forcing a sheriff to cut his budget in the middle of a fiscal year, but added, "I'm not going to play that card."

"We're trying to be a good citizen, but there's a point at which as sheriff, reason can't let you go further" with cuts, Dean said. "If you emasculate the department, where would public safety go?"

And Dean likely will need the County Commission on his side this summer when he brings the board his proposed budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. That's when the property tax cuts from Amendment 1 take effect.

The county Budget Department estimates the Sheriff's Office will have to cut $6.6 million because of lost property tax money. The Sheriff's Office plan is to cut $3.7 million by continuing the hiring freeze ($1.8 million) and the change in the take-home vehicle policy ($508,000), forgoing the purchase of replacement vehicles ($652,150) and reducing costs for utilities and contract services such as insect control ($500,000). Already, 25 percent of the lights in all the agency's buildings, including the jail, have been shut off.

SOLICIT DONATIONS?
Dean also proposed trying to form a new nonprofit foundation that could solicit community donations to cover the $248,500 costs of the agency's various volunteer programs.

He vowed Tuesday to "dig my heels in" and fight not to cut the full $6.6 million. He said that would mean cutting every employee's pay by 6 percent or laying off 100 employees.

Should the County Commission not approve the 2008-09 budget, a dispute could head to the Florida Cabinet and Gov. Charlie Crist for resolution.

Dean noted that might not turn out well for the Sheriff's Office, because Crist championed the Amendment 1 property tax referendum that is now taking a bite out of local governments' budgets.

"Am I upset? Yeah, I'm upset. But I'm not mad at the people," Dean said. "The people spoke because they wanted an extra tax exemption on their house. Did the people want to cut deputies? No, they wanted prioritization" of government services.

The cuts also will remove three employees from the aviation unit and put them on road patrol. The aviation unit will be funded through the property taxing unit for patrol, which funds patrol for unincorporated Marion County as well as McIntosh and Red****. But Dean said helicopters will still fly over Ocala, Belleview and Dunnellon when requested.

Marion county should instead issue take home horses. What is the population there 100,000 for the entire county. Love to see their crime stats and compare them to Broward. When was the last time a LEO got killed there and by what? a runaway cow or something!

[Joe Steel]

Sheriff proposes deep cuts in budget
Plan includes hiring freeze, no overtime

BY CHRISTOPHER CURRY
STAR-BANNER

OCALA - Sheriff Ed Dean unveiled a plan to his advisory committee Tuesday that would cut more than $2.3 million from the current year's budget of approximately $76.6 million.

The plan includes a hiring freeze covering 45 vacancies and the elimination of overtime.

The plan also includes charging $1,200 a year to employees who take their department vehicles home. Corrections officers will lose the $1,000 disparity pay they receive because they can't take department vehicles home.

Employees who take vehicles home also will be charged 15 cents a mile if they drive the vehicles for personal uses, such as security detail at events.

"We're balancing the budget on the backs of the people who work here," Chief Deputy Towles Bigelow told the committee. "The people who work here are going to have to help balance the budget."

There are 424 department vehicles that employees may drive home, and some of the employees may elect to stop doing that instead of paying the $1,200.

Dan Kuhn, one of the agency's three chief deputies, said the take-home policy increases the visibility of law enforcement. "There's no way to put a price tag on how many crimes you may have deterred by driving your vehicle down the street home," he said.

The hiring freeze also includes 10 new deputy positions in this year's budget to cover population growth.

Dean said the cuts were a series of decisions he was "loath" to make, and it was "unheard of" for a law enforcement agency to eliminate overtime. But he said he was doing it to cooperate with the County Commission, which requested that all the constitutional officers - sheriff, tax collector, property appraiser, court clerk and elections supervisor - cut 5.3 percent of the money they receive from the general fund, and for County Administrator Pat Howard to slash more than $2 million.

Commissioners requested a $1.57 million cut from the Sheriff's Office; the other $750,000 cut will free up money to cover the costs of off-site medical treatment, such as hospital visits, for jail inmates.

Behind all the county cuts for this fiscal year is a Budget Department estimate that Marion County will get $4.9 million less than expected in state-shared revenues - mostly sales taxes.

Things are rough over at the Marion County School Board as well. Superintendent Jim Yancey said public schools will need to cut $12 million in programs next year. The district's total budget is $677 million.

Dean said that under his cuts, "nobody loses their job, no essential service is cut."

He said state law prohibits the County Commission from forcing a sheriff to cut his budget in the middle of a fiscal year, but added, "I'm not going to play that card."

"We're trying to be a good citizen, but there's a point at which as sheriff, reason can't let you go further" with cuts, Dean said. "If you emasculate the department, where would public safety go?"

And Dean likely will need the County Commission on his side this summer when he brings the board his proposed budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. That's when the property tax cuts from Amendment 1 take effect.

The county Budget Department estimates the Sheriff's Office will have to cut $6.6 million because of lost property tax money. The Sheriff's Office plan is to cut $3.7 million by continuing the hiring freeze ($1.8 million) and the change in the take-home vehicle policy ($508,000), forgoing the purchase of replacement vehicles ($652,150) and reducing costs for utilities and contract services such as insect control ($500,000). Already, 25 percent of the lights in all the agency's buildings, including the jail, have been shut off.

SOLICIT DONATIONS?
Dean also proposed trying to form a new nonprofit foundation that could solicit community donations to cover the $248,500 costs of the agency's various volunteer programs.

He vowed Tuesday to "dig my heels in" and fight not to cut the full $6.6 million. He said that would mean cutting every employee's pay by 6 percent or laying off 100 employees.

Should the County Commission not approve the 2008-09 budget, a dispute could head to the Florida Cabinet and Gov. Charlie Crist for resolution.

Dean noted that might not turn out well for the Sheriff's Office, because Crist championed the Amendment 1 property tax referendum that is now taking a bite out of local governments' budgets.

"Am I upset? Yeah, I'm upset. But I'm not mad at the people," Dean said. "The people spoke because they wanted an extra tax exemption on their house. Did the people want to cut deputies? No, they wanted prioritization" of government services.

The cuts also will remove three employees from the aviation unit and put them on road patrol. The aviation unit will be funded through the property taxing unit for patrol, which funds patrol for unincorporated Marion County as well as McIntosh and Red****. But Dean said helicopters will still fly over Ocala, Belleview and Dunnellon when requested.

Dan Kuhn, one of the agency's three chief deputies

Perhaps they could cut TWO of the THREE "Chief Deputies" positions.

Marion county should instead issue take home horses. What is the population there 100,000 for the entire county. Love to see their crime stats and compare them to Broward. When was the last time a LEO got killed there and by what? a runaway cow or something!

Obviously you've never been to Marion County, MORON. Know what you're talking aboutbefore you spew off idiotic statements. It could give broward a run for its money!!!!!!

Marion county should instead issue take home horses. What is the population there 100,000 for the entire county. Love to see their crime stats and compare them to Broward. When was the last time a LEO got killed there and by what? a runaway cow or something!

Obviously you've never been to Marion County, MORON. Know what you're talking aboutbefore you spew off idiotic statements. It could give broward a run for its money!!!!!!

WOW, another tough guy behind a computer. Typical and very spineless..

Marion county should instead issue take home horses. What is the population there 100,000 for the entire county. Love to see their crime stats and compare them to Broward. When was the last time a LEO got killed there and by what? a runaway cow or something!

Obviously you've never been to Marion County, MORON. Know what you're talking aboutbefore you spew off idiotic statements. It could give broward a run for its money!!!!!!

The population of Marion County in 2000 was over 250,000, :Population (2006)[2]
- City 52,488
- Metro 316,183

Today, Marion County is one of the major Thoroughbred centers of the world, with over 1,200 horse farms in total and about 600 Thoroughbred farms.

Cost of owning a home:Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $111,100 (it was $77,600 in 2000)
Ocala $111,100
Florida: $189,500Marion County (TOTAL)

COUNTY: Marion
POPULATION: 315,074
TOTAL CRIME INDEX: 10,390
MURDERS: 15
RAPE: 177
ROBBERY: 277
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT: 1,857
BURGLARY: 2,118
LARCENY: 5,376
MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT: 570
CRIME RATE PER 100,000 PEOPLE: 3,297.60
PERCENT CLEARED: 46.8

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Broward County (TOTAL)

COUNTY: Broward
POPULATION: 1,753,162
TOTAL CRIME INDEX: 75,314
MURDERS: 87
RAPE: 477
ROBBERY: 3,685
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT: 6,515
BURGLARY: 13,218
LARCENY: 44,240
MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT: 7,092
CRIME RATE PER 100,000 PEOPLE: 4,295.90
PERCENT CLEARED: 19.4

WHO IS THE MORON????????????

Marion county should instead issue take home horses. What is the population there 100,000 for the entire county. Love to see their crime stats and compare them to Broward. When was the last time a LEO got killed there and by what? a runaway cow or something!

Obviously you've never been to Marion County, MORON. Know what you're talking aboutbefore you spew off idiotic statements. It could give broward a run for its money!!!!!!

The population of Marion County in 2000 was over 250,000, :Population (2006)[2]
- City 52,488
- Metro 316,183

Today, Marion County is one of the major Thoroughbred centers of the world, with over 1,200 horse farms in total and about 600 Thoroughbred farms.

Cost of owning a home:Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $111,100 (it was $77,600 in 2000)
Ocala $111,100
Florida: $189,500Marion County (TOTAL)

COUNTY: Marion
POPULATION: 315,074
TOTAL CRIME INDEX: 10,390
MURDERS: 15
RAPE: 177
ROBBERY: 277
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT: 1,857
BURGLARY: 2,118
LARCENY: 5,376
MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT: 570
CRIME RATE PER 100,000 PEOPLE: 3,297.60
PERCENT CLEARED: 46.8

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Broward County (TOTAL)

COUNTY: Broward
POPULATION: 1,753,162
TOTAL CRIME INDEX: 75,314
MURDERS: 87
RAPE: 477
ROBBERY: 3,685
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT: 6,515
BURGLARY: 13,218
LARCENY: 44,240
MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT: 7,092
CRIME RATE PER 100,000 PEOPLE: 4,295.90
PERCENT CLEARED: 19.4

WHO IS THE MORON????????????

You obviously need to get a life you loser! If you have the time or even the inclination to pull up stats from another county, you need some psychological help.

Marion county should instead issue take home horses. What is the population there 100,000 for the entire county. Love to see their crime stats and compare them to Broward. When was the last time a LEO got killed there and by what? a runaway cow or something!

Obviously you've never been to Marion County, MORON. Know what you're talking aboutbefore you spew off idiotic statements. It could give broward a run for its money!!!!!!

The population of Marion County in 2000 was over 250,000, :Population (2006)[2]
- City 52,488
- Metro 316,183

Today, Marion County is one of the major Thoroughbred centers of the world, with over 1,200 horse farms in total and about 600 Thoroughbred farms.

Cost of owning a home:Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $111,100 (it was $77,600 in 2000)
Ocala $111,100
Florida: $189,500Marion County (TOTAL)

COUNTY: Marion
POPULATION: 315,074
TOTAL CRIME INDEX: 10,390
MURDERS: 15
RAPE: 177
ROBBERY: 277
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT: 1,857
BURGLARY: 2,118
LARCENY: 5,376
MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT: 570
CRIME RATE PER 100,000 PEOPLE: 3,297.60
PERCENT CLEARED: 46.8

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Broward County (TOTAL)

COUNTY: Broward
POPULATION: 1,753,162
TOTAL CRIME INDEX: 75,314
MURDERS: 87
RAPE: 477
ROBBERY: 3,685
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT: 6,515
BURGLARY: 13,218
LARCENY: 44,240
MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT: 7,092
CRIME RATE PER 100,000 PEOPLE: 4,295.90
PERCENT CLEARED: 19.4

WHO IS THE MORON????????????

You obviously need to get a life you loser! If you have the time or even the inclination to pull up stats from another county, you need some psychological help.

I might be a loser in need of a life but your an idiot moron who has no clue what you are saying. :lol: 8) :roll: :wink:

You obviously need to get a life you loser! If you have the time or even the inclination to pull up stats from another county, you need some psychological help.

I'm not the one that posted Marion's stats but I don't see the big deal.

Type "broward county crime statistics" in google and the first link gives you FDLE's website with links to every county's stats. Takes all of two seconds...

Sheriff proposes deep cuts in budget
Plan includes hiring freeze, no overtime

BY CHRISTOPHER CURRY
STAR-BANNER

OCALA - Sheriff Ed Dean unveiled a plan to his advisory committee Tuesday that would cut more than $2.3 million from the current year's budget of approximately $76.6 million.

The plan includes a hiring freeze covering 45 vacancies and the elimination of overtime.

The plan also includes charging $1,200 a year to employees who take their department vehicles home. Corrections officers will lose the $1,000 disparity pay they receive because they can't take department vehicles home.

Employees who take vehicles home also will be charged 15 cents a mile if they drive the vehicles for personal uses, such as security detail at events.

"We're balancing the budget on the backs of the people who work here," Chief Deputy Towles Bigelow told the committee. "The people who work here are going to have to help balance the budget."

There are 424 department vehicles that employees may drive home, and some of the employees may elect to stop doing that instead of paying the $1,200.

Dan Kuhn, one of the agency's three chief deputies, said the take-home policy increases the visibility of law enforcement. "There's no way to put a price tag on how many crimes you may have deterred by driving your vehicle down the street home," he said.

The hiring freeze also includes 10 new deputy positions in this year's budget to cover population growth.

Dean said the cuts were a series of decisions he was "loath" to make, and it was "unheard of" for a law enforcement agency to eliminate overtime. But he said he was doing it to cooperate with the County Commission, which requested that all the constitutional officers - sheriff, tax collector, property appraiser, court clerk and elections supervisor - cut 5.3 percent of the money they receive from the general fund, and for County Administrator Pat Howard to slash more than $2 million.

Commissioners requested a $1.57 million cut from the Sheriff's Office; the other $750,000 cut will free up money to cover the costs of off-site medical treatment, such as hospital visits, for jail inmates.

Behind all the county cuts for this fiscal year is a Budget Department estimate that Marion County will get $4.9 million less than expected in state-shared revenues - mostly sales taxes.

Things are rough over at the Marion County School Board as well. Superintendent Jim Yancey said public schools will need to cut $12 million in programs next year. The district's total budget is $677 million.

Dean said that under his cuts, "nobody loses their job, no essential service is cut."

He said state law prohibits the County Commission from forcing a sheriff to cut his budget in the middle of a fiscal year, but added, "I'm not going to play that card."

"We're trying to be a good citizen, but there's a point at which as sheriff, reason can't let you go further" with cuts, Dean said. "If you emasculate the department, where would public safety go?"

And Dean likely will need the County Commission on his side this summer when he brings the board his proposed budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. That's when the property tax cuts from Amendment 1 take effect.

The county Budget Department estimates the Sheriff's Office will have to cut $6.6 million because of lost property tax money. The Sheriff's Office plan is to cut $3.7 million by continuing the hiring freeze ($1.8 million) and the change in the take-home vehicle policy ($508,000), forgoing the purchase of replacement vehicles ($652,150) and reducing costs for utilities and contract services such as insect control ($500,000). Already, 25 percent of the lights in all the agency's buildings, including the jail, have been shut off.

SOLICIT DONATIONS?
Dean also proposed trying to form a new nonprofit foundation that could solicit community donations to cover the $248,500 costs of the agency's various volunteer programs.

He vowed Tuesday to "dig my heels in" and fight not to cut the full $6.6 million. He said that would mean cutting every employee's pay by 6 percent or laying off 100 employees.

Should the County Commission not approve the 2008-09 budget, a dispute could head to the Florida Cabinet and Gov. Charlie Crist for resolution.

Dean noted that might not turn out well for the Sheriff's Office, because Crist championed the Amendment 1 property tax referendum that is now taking a bite out of local governments' budgets.

"Am I upset? Yeah, I'm upset. But I'm not mad at the people," Dean said. "The people spoke because they wanted an extra tax exemption on their house. Did the people want to cut deputies? No, they wanted prioritization" of government services.

The cuts also will remove three employees from the aviation unit and put them on road patrol. The aviation unit will be funded through the property taxing unit for patrol, which funds patrol for unincorporated Marion County as well as McIntosh and Red****. But Dean said helicopters will still fly over Ocala, Belleview and Dunnellon when requested.

CAN I GET SOME CLIFF NOTES HERE!!!! GOD, IT WOULD TAKE ME A WEEK TO READ THIS. LOL

You obviously need to get a life you loser! If you have the time or even the inclination to pull up stats from another county, you need some psychological help.

I'm not the one that posted Marion's stats but I don't see the big deal.

Type "broward county crime statistics" in google and the first link gives you FDLE's website with links to every county's stats. Takes all of two seconds...

The big deal is the orginal poster is indicating that Marion County is getting the shaft and we should too. But, what i am trying to say is there is no comparison. It is risker to work here and more expensive than Marion County.

"more expensive than Marion County" That's an understatement. I agree, No comparison. I challenge a "new deputy" to buy a home, 3/2, anywhere in the county. He may make his mortgage, but he'd have to go to Church's Chicken for Breakfast, lunch and dinner.... :shock:

"more expensive than Marion County" That's an understatement. I agree, No comparison. I challenge a "new deputy" to buy a home, 3/2, anywhere in the county. He may make his mortgage, but he'd have to go to Church's Chicken for Breakfast, lunch and dinner.... :shock:

It's all relative. Lower pay in Marion and lower prices for homes. It equals out to the same and they are also working with just as many scumbags as we are.......
I didnt post any of the other posts but you need to see that its the same all over. Cuts are everywhere even in the private sector.

"more expensive than Marion County" That's an understatement. I agree, No comparison. I challenge a "new deputy" to buy a home, 3/2, anywhere in the county. He may make his mortgage, but he'd have to go to Church's Chicken for Breakfast, lunch and dinner.... :shock:

It's all relative. Lower pay in Marion and lower prices for homes. It equals out to the same and they are also working with just as many scumbags as we are.......
I didnt post any of the other posts but you need to see that its the same all over. Cuts are everywhere even in the private sector.

I swear the next person that says it's all the same everywhere and look at the private sector. I am going to jump off a freaking bridge. The private sector does not have to wear a uniform and carry a gun. They don't risk getting shot at, spit at, stabbed at, run over and have to struggle with a scum bag who is trying to kill you at work. WE DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A judge gets paid more than I do. The City and County administrator has better benefits and pay than I do. What the fuc@k does that have to do with us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :roll:

"more expensive than Marion County" That's an understatement. I agree, No comparison. I challenge a "new deputy" to buy a home, 3/2, anywhere in the county. He may make his mortgage, but he'd have to go to Church's Chicken for Breakfast, lunch and dinner.... :shock:

It's all relative. Lower pay in Marion and lower prices for homes. It equals out to the same and they are also working with just as many scumbags as we are.......
I didnt post any of the other posts but you need to see that its the same all over. Cuts are everywhere even in the private sector.

I swear the next person that says it's all the same everywhere and look at the private sector. I am going to jump off a freaking bridge. The private sector does not have to wear a uniform and carry a gun. They don't risk getting shot at, spit at, stabbed at, run over and have to struggle with a scum bag who is trying to kill you at work. WE DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A judge gets paid more than I do. The City and County administrator has better benefits and pay than I do. What the fuc@k does that have to do with us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :roll:

May I suggest the 17th street cuaseway.....they raised it to ensure maximum damage!!!!

Marion County is similar to Broward in a way. They also have a former sheriff that went to prison.