The $61 million general fund budget would include an increase of $5.6 million over the current budget but no increases in city staffing paid through the general fund. That staffing stands at 271. By far the single-largest line item increase in the budget would be for public safety, starting with policing through the city’s contract with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, and the addition of nine deputies to the city’s contract, for a total of 57.
Flagler County Sheriff
No Change in Sheriff’s Resource Deputies Assigned to Flagler Schools But Surging Costs Raise Questions
The Flagler County School District is preparing to approve a $1.38 million contract for its share of school resource deputies (SRDs) and crossing guards for the school year starting on Aug. 12, a 16 percent increase over this year’s $1.19 million contract. The increases drew questions from School Board member Colleen Conklin, who was startled by a 68 percent increase in the cost of crossing guards and the increase in deputies’ costs even though the number of guards or deputies isn’t changing.
Flagler Sheriff’s Office Implements Rapid DNA at Jail with $250,000 State Grant
Rapid DNA analysis is a fully automated process of developing a DNA profile from a mouth swab. Rapid DNA takes a qualifying arrestee’s DNA profile and automatically enters it in CODIS/NDIS during the booking process. The arrestee’s DNA sample is then searched against all unsolved crimes within 24 hours. The results are usually returned in one or two hours. No human laboratory scientist is needed.
Sheriff: Increase School Board’s Cost Share of Campus Deputies to 60%, Lower County’s Share to 40%
The Flagler County Sheriff is recommending to the County Commission that the 50-50 cost share for school resource deputies, or SRDs, between the School Board and the County Commission be changed. Staly is recommending that the School Board shoulder 60 percent of the cost, adding $300,000 to the district’s budget, while lowering the county’s responsibility an equal amount.
Flagler Sheriff Offers Vacation Watch Program for Your Home
Through this community safety program, each household can receive up to 20 vacation house watch checks per year. During these checks, the uniformed FCSO Citizen Observer Patrol members survey the outside of the home to make sure it is secure. If anything looks suspicious the C.O.P then notifies the homeowner.
Increasing Sales Tax Divides Palm Coast and Flagler County As Both Scrounge for New Revenue for Cops and Other Needs
Discussion of a possible increase in the local sales surtax sharpy divided opinions between the Flagler County Commission and the Palm Coast City Council, who were meeting jointly today to discuss funding for the sheriff’s office. The discussion divided the two bodies even within their own memberships, suggesting that any possibility of an increase is remote best this year, if that.
Sheriff Launches New Marine Unit Boat in Time for Memorial Day Weekend Patrols
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office received a grant from Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) to fund a new patrol boat which will allow for enhanced patrol along the intracoastal waterway, marine search and rescue efforts, law enforcement operations, crime prevention and boater safety and education along the intercoastal waterway and saltwater canals.
‘No Credible Threat to Flagler Schools’ as String of Menaces Take Toll on Students, Parents and Faculty
Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore said today that while the series of phoned-in threats to district schools has taken a toll on students, faculty and parents, none were credible, and she would not give the caller the satisfaction of cancelling events. The district’s crisis-intervention teams have been spending time in schools.
Flagler Sheriff’s SWAT Snipers in Top 10 at National Competition
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) SWAT sniper team placed ninth out of 45 teams at the annual Snipercraft Challenge. This is the third year in a row that FCSO’s SWAT snipers have placed in the top 10.
At Law Enforcement Memorial, Solace in the Language of a Flag and the Bond of Shared Loss
Some 150 people and law enforcement officers from different agencies turned out for the annual Law Enforcement Memorial Service hosted by Sheriff Rick Staly in Bunnell Wednesday evening. Earlier in the day the sheriff had unveiled a memorial plaque to Perry Hall, for whom the county jail is named, and who was the county’s first fallen officer, on Aug. 21, 2027.