The sheriff of a small, North Florida County says there’s not enough money in his new budget for him to carry out his duties. Now Jackson County’s sheriff is asking Governor Ron DeSantis to step in. A law passed in 2021 lets law enforcement appeal their budgets to the governor and Florida cabinet.
“I asked for the amount that I asked for. You guys denied it. I appealed it and I stand here today," Sheriff Donald Edenfield said during a recent Jackson County commission meeting.
Edenfield requested $5,798,793 for the fiscal year that started in October. The County appropriated $5,519,617. That’s a difference of only about $279,000, but Edenfield says what the county gave him isn’t enough.
The Sheriff told county commissioners he needs the additional funding to retain 9-1-1 operators and pay for fuel for his deputy’s vehicles.
Commissioners pressed him on what steps he's taken to find savings. Edenfield responded by saying "I don't have to sit up here and explain to you how I manage my fuel budget on that level. I'm responsible with the funds that you give m."
Commission Chair Jim Peacock responded by saying when it comes to spending the county's money, the commission also has to answer to voters. Peacock says it's a normal part of the budget process that an agency might not get full funding for every one of its requests.
“Just because you put it on a wish list does not make it a budget. Once we go through and flesh it out then it becomes THE budget and if it’s more than what it was last year, then I don’t see how you can make an argument that we cut his budget," Peacock said.
When the legislature passed the law that lets sheriffs appeal their budgets, Gov. Ron DeSantis said it was a direct response to calls to quote “defund the police.” Such calls to reallocate law enforcement funding to social and mental health programs sprang up in the wake of the social justice protests of 2020 following high-profile killings of Black people by law enforcement.
“What the rule does is it says very clearly to the people of Florida, if your municipal government tries to defund law enforcement, we’ve got your back. We are going to protect you. We are not going to allow some rouge local government do insane things like defunding the police, like we have seen massive cuts in other parts of this country. Where we have seen crime skyrocket out of control," DeSantis said.
Edenfield’s budget is bigger this year than last, But Jackson County Attorney Michelle Jordan says under the law the question is not whether the county reduced the sheriff’s funds.
"The issue is, did you adequately fund his budget considering all of your available resources and his needs? And I think that's where your argument is going to break down," Jordan told commissioners.
Jordan says the commissioners have the money to grant the sheriff’s request. They have discretionary dollars from the American Rescue Plan that could be directed to the sheriff’s budget. But Commissioners argue that’s not how they want to use that money, and they don’t like the idea of putting those one-time dollars toward a recurring budget item. Jordan says that doesn’t matter.
“I’m just asking you all not to put me in a position where I have to go and cry poor mouth to the state when you all are sitting on a million dollars a piece in your discretionary funds," Jordan said. "I can’t make that argument with a straight face.
Edenfield also raised gripes about how the country calculated a 1% cost reduction that all county officials had been asked to make. The Commission voted to correct what they agreed had been an error in the calculation and encouraged Edenfield to return to request more funds for fuel or new needs that arise as the sheriff has done in the past.
Edenfield declined, saying he’d rather move his appeal forward to the governor and cabinet. One of those cabinet members, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, has said the law takes away local control.
“This continues a disturbing pattern in Tallahassee of bullying local governments into submission. We all support our local law enforcement officers and the difficult jobs they have to do, but this is straight up hypocritical interference yet again with cities and counties managing their budgets and doing their jobs," Fried said.
Fried’s term ends in January. She’s the only Democrat on the panel. The other posts are held By Republicans, DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and CFO Jimmy Patronis. All three have backed the law.
