JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It's the biggest portion of the City of Jacksonville's budget, and it might get bigger.
Incoming Mayor Donna Deegan won't present her budget until July 15 but Sheriff T.K. Waters has already proposed his funding expectations for JSO.
Over the last decade, JSO's budget increased every year except one. In fact, since 2013 the Sheriff's Office budget increased by $200 million and next year's budget request calls for $35 million more.
The topic of JSO's budget was front and center for Mayor-elect Donna Deegan while introducing her executive leadership team.
"We have a large public safety budget, which is very important," said Deegan. "We'll look to make our mark on that budget but I wouldn't look for huge, huge changes to that budget on our end."
JSO's $592 million budget request for the next fiscal year has not been approved, but Waters is asking for funding to hire an additional 80 police officers. Forty of those positions were being funded by a federal grant, but that grant is ending, so Waters would like the city to add those salaries to the budget in addition to 40 new officer positions.
The total salary for JSO patrol and enforcement is $98.2 million and the additional officer positions would cost $2.8 million.
Negotiating with Deegan for additional JSO officers is a topic that Waters brought up the night that Deegan was elected mayor.
"It's important for us to sit down, have a conversation and talk about what we are going to do next and make sure that people of this city are safe," said Waters on May 16. "That's the most important thing because that's what I was elected to do."
M.A.D. D.A.D.S. Jacksonville chapter President Donald Foy doesn't object to more officers, but also doesn't think adding officers will make the community safer.
"We feel it helps, but it's not just the answer to the problem," said Foy. "The answer to the problem is getting the community more involved so that they become more responsible for their own community."
More than 3,200 people work for JSO and salaries and benefits are the main reasons why the JSO budget is so large. Across the six divisions within the department, total JSO salaries account for $230 million - and that doesn't include benefits like retirement or health insurance.
When introducing her executive leadership team, Mayor-elect Deegan said that the mayor's office has to be a good partner with the sheriff's office. It remains to be seen whether that partnership includes all that the sheriff is asking for.