Despite a precipitous drop in crime on his watch, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly is requesting 10 additional deputies from Palm Coast government for policing the city, a request that would increase the force assigned to the city by a third and increase the city’s policing budget 28 percent.
The sheriff is also requesting 15 additional deputies from county government. The requests are driven not so much by crime rates as by demand for services, which have been increasing sharply over the years.
For Palm Coast, it would be the largest single-year expansion of policing in the city’s history, paired with an equally historic decline in crime. It places a council reluctant to increase taxes, if not increase its policing ranks that quickly and to that extent, in a difficult position, especially in light of other costly priorities the city administration presented today.
Notably, the request was prepared when the county was seeking support for an additional half-cent sales tax levy to help pay for the expansion. That proposal has since been set aside, mostly because of Palm Coast’s rejection, led by Council member Ed Danko.
The city adopted a $4.04 million budget for law enforcement last September. With an addition of four deputies during the year, the figure has since risen to $4.59 million. The sheriff’s request would increase the city’s cost to $5.88 million. The increase includes a request for a $150,000 patrol boat and a 3.1 percent increase in personnel costs. The added financial burden by itself would outstrip by $100,000 the additional property tax revenue the city is expecting from new construction–the sort of new revenue that does not count against its property tax rate as a tax increase.
That means if the city were to adopt the sheriff’s request, it would have to offset the $100,000 difference with a tax increase or cuts in the current budget, and would have to do the same regarding any other additional costs in the city’s already relatively lean budget. The city is looking at a nearly similar cost increase in its street-improvement program, for example, the addition of three firefighters, a $1 million increase in the parks and recreations department, $1.3 million for street maintenance, plus additional personnel costs and other budget items as well. The budget the administration presented the council today did not include the sheriff’s request, and would require the current tax rate to stay the same next year, which would amount to a tax increase according to Florida law.
That would make the sheriff’s request all but untenable absent a significant realignment of city priorities. And it made for strange ideas and surreal situations, as when Council member Victor Barbosa suggested that since code enforcement gets so many complaint calls about vehicles parked in swales, perhaps money could be shifted from code enforcement to the sheriff’s budget so the sheriff’s deputies police the problem.
The surreal was when Barbosa, whom the Sheriff’s Office considers to be a fugitive from justice, questioned Staly about those possibilities, though Staly didn’t let Barbosa’s questioning get too far. “You’re elected to make hard decisions, you set the policy direction for staff. And so how you fund that request is up to you,” the sheriff said.
Staly’s request is paired with the sheriff’s–and the evidence’s–heralding of a historically low crime rate will make it that much harder to justify.
The request is based on a staffing analysis the sheriff commissioned from the University of Florida, produced a year ago, that recommended “31 immediate and 47 additional hires over the next five years,” for a total of 78 deputies by 2025, based on certain metrics the study called “conservative.” Central metrics include per-capita staffing assumptions and “drivers of deputy time” on the job.
“This is the first chance that we’ve had to discuss it,” Staly said, citing former Council member Bob Cuff as originating the request for just such a study. He then placed the agency’s success in recent years in the context of the agency’s manpower capabilities, connecting it to one of the most emotive issues of recent years: officer-involved shootings.
“Some people say crime is down, which it is,” Staly said. “Fortunately I have a very dedicated team and crime is down 48 percent. We’ve had one deputy-involved shooting since 2012. That occurred in July, a year ago. And I think there’s a reason that we don’t have the issues that you see in other communities. And the more deputy involved or law enforcement officer involved shootings, is because what’s not calculated in a crime rate is the ability for more than one deputy, in this case, to be at a scene. And I can tell you that our resources are being stretched.”
As an example he cited his handling of a call on a Friday night patrol, when all other deputies were tied up. He showed a screenshot of the computer-assisted dispatching system that indicates to what extent deputies are tied up on a call, with red indicating tie-ups. The screen was mostly red. He also showed video from recent, high-profile, dangerous encounters between law enforcement and individuals at traffic stops.
“Crime rate does not dictate the size of your police force,” Joe Saviak, a former member of the sheriff’s administrative staff and a former member of the faculty at UNF, told the council this morning, briefing council members on the UNF study. “In other words, we don’t go, hey crime is way down, so let’s decrease the size of the law enforcement personnel serving and protecting us. In fact, a lot of your calls which are citizen-community generated don’t involve a crime that’s been committed or a crime in progress, but are also equally important issues: quality of life, substance abuse, mental health, traffic.”
Saviak also defended the study’s methodology, describing it as “completely driven by the facts, the reality in Palm Coast, in other words, it’s not like a national standard or national benchmark we’re trying to shoehorn into Palm Coast. This is exactly what is being generated in terms of workload and service demand in Palm Coast.” The study, however, again and again refers to comparisons with “Southern jurisdictions with populations of 50,000–249,000,” and reached its conclusions based on the need for 2 officers per 1,000 residents (as opposed to 1.7 at the time the study was conducted). The study was published in the peer-reviewed Policing in May 2020.
Saviak said there were some 81,000 calls of service in the city the year of the UNF study (the study itself cited 75,000, a number he said was an undercount compared to the “true-up”).
Remarkably, the study does not take account of technology (the word “technology” doesn’t appear in its 77 pages), a factor the sheriff has credited again and again as making policing more effective and efficient. Nor does it take into account the innovations the sheriff instituted for efficiency’s sake. “The district policing model that Sheriff Staly implemented does make manpower more efficient obviously,” Saviak said, “because individuals aren’t going from one end of the county to the other in the county on every goal in order to respond to Palm Coast, and then also the success of the [Community Oriented Policing] program which obviously takes a good amount of annual workload off the deputies too, so that’s actually very much in Palm Coast’s favor.”
And the sheriff’s May 15 letter to the city administration prefacing the request cites a population growth rate for Palm Coast of 900 residents a year–a serious inaccuracy based on a figure Matt Morton had estimated to Chief Mark Strobridge at the time, based on permitting figures in a single month. The actual figure is closer to a third of that or less.
The sheriff’s approach before the council, echoed in previous years, suggests the numbers presented today may be the opening of a negotiated deal, though some council members were prepared to provide the whole request. Council member Ed Danko told the sheriff: “Of all the money that we’re going to be asked to spend this year, I think you’re the best investment. I’m fully on board with what you’re asking for.”
Danko’s toadying was disingenuous. Just last week he’d voted against a maintenance contract of the city’s broadband network, which would have jeopardized the sheriff’s Internet access as well as access to traffic cameras. And it was Dankop who’d led the way against the half-cent sales tax that may have underwritten police and fire services’ expansions. Danko had also not yet heard the administration’s requests, though it wasn’t his first a priori judgment.
Nick Klufas reminded Danko of the contradiction. “I think our struggle as a council going forward is going to be not necessarily deciding in being in agreement that we need additional funding for police officers for a higher level of service,” he said. “It’s that as a council we need to take a more holistic approach on how we fund these deputies.” Without naming Danko, he said he found it “difficult” to hear support from his fellow-council members who had opposed the sales tax increase just weeks ago. (He had supported it.)
“I just want to make sure that as a council we sit up here and we show that we have support for our law enforcement and the level of service of providing and the safety it creates,” Klufas said. “And that’s why our population is going up. We have people who moved to Palm Coast because they expect a level of service not only with law enforcement, but they expect paved roads, they expect the trash to be picked up, they expect their swales to be flowing.”
Barbosa said it only had to do with budget priorities.
“Where would you cut a million dollars of services today if you had to provide the additional funding?” Klufas asked Barbosa.
“This is a question for the county,” Barbosa said, inexplicably. It was a discussion focused exclusively on the Palm Coast budget.
“This is for funding additional city of Palm Coast police officers,” Klufas said. “We’re responsible for funding the additional million dollars, we can ask the county and the way we could have asked the county would have been through that half-cent sales tax.”
“I can’t tell you if I can’t look at the county,” Barbosa said again.
“You can look at our budgets,” Klufas said.
“Ahhh, I’ve asked for questions I don’t get answers,” Barbosa said.
When Mayor Eddie Branquinho asked him what questions he wasn’t getting answered, it appeared Barbosa’s questions were not about the county after all–or about the policing contract, policing in general or taxation: he had asked the administration how much the city paid FlaglerLive for advertising, though he also said he was provided the documentation: his questions were, in fact, answered. (The city’s goals set out by the council include developing a “branding and marketing strategy,” including various advertising campaigns supporting events “that provide positive economic impact for the community.” The city’s communications and marketing budget is $543,000. The city pays FlaglerLive $600 a month for advertising.)
“Let’s conduct this in a proper way,” Branquinho said, sighing, and asking council members if they had questions for the sheriff, who was standing by. They had not.
Branquinho, a retired cop, was difficult to read. “We’re not expecting a lot of crime coming to Palm Coast, what are we expecting is, it’s a lot of safety,” he said. “And the only way to come up with that is for you to be properly staffed. I don’t know what it is at this point.” He spoke at longer length, but mostly not about staffing so much as, seemingly summing up what running a police agency is about.
“It comes down to one thing,” Branquinho concluded: “What you want, what you think that’s needed, and you presented it today. The other question is for us to decide what we could actually give you, if not all, and what can we afford. That’s the only thing at this point right now.”
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Wasteful Spending says
Drive around Palm Coast roadways enough and you will see two sometimes three or four FCSO cars sitting there BSing with each other. Palm Coast has been bilked enough for more money. We need to drop the contract and just demand that Palm Coast gets 75% percent of the deputies we are already paying for in county taxes.. Look at all the wasteful spending the FCSO already does. Paying $2000 a vehicle for these fancy graphics..wasting money on boats and overtime doing a job FWC already does …….they already have more than they could ever need of our money. Enough is enough….
Defund the Rich and Famous says
He timed his formal pitch to the all Republican council exactly two weeks before the city will learn it has a new Democratic mayor named Cornelia Manfre. Just an observation.
How about stripping out about 10,000 sf and the million dollars needed from the new operations center? You can expand it later when needed. But far be it for a Republican to actually be conservative when it comes to military and policing.
BR#549 says
What does Staly think we live in Volusia county or Orlando I say NO WAY they are not needed.
A few dollars more says
So what I am getting out of this is that growth doesn’t pay for itself? And when it doesn’t our elected city and county officials have no clue how to proceed. The sheriff is incredibly popular by any reasonable accounting. Seems odd he would have to go hat in hand begging for more funding.
LEE Michaud says
You are right on. The right way is to do it before crime becomes a big problem and the service we get now from our police force is downgraded .
Jimmy059 says
WOW, what an increase. I get tired year after year watching these department heads get up there with their request for funds. They should learn to live within their budgets and make the best of what they get. Law enforcement and firefighters are always the ones who nobody ever wants to question. They play their cards right into the various groups and no that no one will question policing or fire/medical services. Happens every year. Between the city, county, and now the school board, who is going to say no when they push the safety issue. What ifs, may happen, you never know. All terms you always hear these guys say. I think their analysis is wrong, using data from southern regions and populations higher than ours and the number of officers per thousand. A good portion of our residents is retired and trying to get away from higher crime areas. Do we need an officer for every thousand retiaries?
And the city, if you know that with the population growth these services will require to be increased, why aren’t you doing something on charging these developments monies to offset these increases. If you are well it’s not enough.
I’ve been here for over 20 years and see the same thing year after year. Everyone must live within their means. Cut back where and when you can. We as residents do and can’t afford yet another property tax increase or another half-cent sales tax increase.
This is going to be funny to watch. between the dysfunctional sideshow at the county or the dysfunctional sideshow at city counsel. Hold onto your wallets.
Mike Cocchiola says
This is an outrageous demand. There is no rational justification for the additional 10 deputies at an additional cost of $1.3 million. “quality of life, substance abuse, mental health, traffic” is not a justification. Statistics related to city-by-city comparisons are not a justification. The fact that the sheriff had to do a little work himself is not a justification. This is merely a county sheriff that is building an empire with his own private palace, all at taxpayers’ expense.
It is time for this city to dig their heels in and say no! No more, Sheriff Staly, until we really need it.
WILLIAM J NELSON says
Yes! I am a fan of Staley’s, but for only the second time I can recall, I’m behind Cocchiola’s remarks (even though they are DEFINATELY politically inspired.
Right says
Make no mistake, the Sheriff does a little work himself for social media exposure.
SMC says
“We’re not expecting a lot of crime coming to Palm Coast, what are we expecting is, it’s a lot of safety,”
From the safety point of view residents have asked for “Speed Humps”, not Speed Bumps”. The Sheriff’s Office has said before that it supports the Traffic Calming Method of Speed Humps. Other cities in Florida said they use them to free Officers up from constantly patrolling residential neighborhoods giving resources back to the Sheriff’s Office. This Traffic Calming Method in residential neighborhoods will give back to the Sheriff’s Office resources and reduce some of the increase requirements. It is time for the City Council to support the Sheriff’s Office by returning resources that are tied up patrolling for speeders (safety) or the city can plan for increases in personnel resources as traffic increases on more and more residential streets. Prevention or Increase Personnel which is more $Dollars$. “By design, traffic calming is a self-enforcing traffic management approach that forces motorists to alter their speed or direction of travel. The purpose of traffic calming is to improve safety, especially for
pedestrians and bicyclists, and to improve the environment or “livability” of streets for residents and
visitors. Enhanced safety is one of the most fundamental benefits of traffic calming. By decreasing
volume and/or reducing speed the number and severity of accidents is greatly diminished.” Your Choice.
Robjr says
It is like he wants to give his department a raise and acquire new hires.
Can the town council JUST SAY NO?
Or is this a republican coup.
palmcoaster says
I totally agree with Wasteful Spending yes we need to receive the services we are paying to the county in law enforcement and we are not getting. Correct about 75% non rendered sheriff services that we pay to the county now this is our county taxes are more than double of what we pay the city in our ad valorem taxes (homes) once a year. Enough is enough of Palmcoasters funding the county frivoulous spending.
The city also should star installing street soft humps in just few designated residential roads to control speed and avoid that way the use of sheriff traffic units more expensive to monitor speeders. Slow Way, Cimmaron, FPD, White View, Club House Drive and other residential roads need the soft humps to deter speeders and traffic. Please install them as are less costly and self monitored. Other Florida cities, states and nation wide have them why not Palm Coast?
Tired of the waste says
Wait, the Sheriff says he is done a good job of reducing crime….with the personnel he has…so why does he need more deputies? Maybe we could save a lot of money if we rehabed the old building instead of building him a new palace?
JohnX says
A safe city with a very visible police force is a desirable city and will only increase values and influx. Palm Coast is smart not to have their own police force. I would pay fund it and move on.
Mark says
Let the people breath a little damn. Too many police is not good, people should not have to live in fear of breaking laws , where is the so called freedom when every corner there is a cop enforcing these laws. That is a stressful life which leads to domestic issues. Let freedom ring and let the police take a back seat.
Denali says
Seriously? ‘A cop on every corner? Who are you kidding?
I have sat at several red lights and watched countless folks roll right through the light to make a right turn followed by a deputy doing the same thing – was anyone stopped? No. The drag racers and lane hopping speeders in this town have taken over the roads. Belle Terre has a 45 mph limit, drive that and you’ll get tail-gated, run over and flipped off. The major streets are a safety hazard with the way people drive; turning right from the left lane, speeding up to run a red light, rolling through red lights on a right turn, not using turn signals, tail lights and brake lights not working. And then we have the residential streets where there is a certain population who find great thrills in over accelerating their modified cars in such a way to project their manhood. Doesn’t Florida have a law about altering a vehicle’s exhaust system to make it louder? Yes, there is such a state law but our Sheriff has decided not to enforce it.
The Sheriff’s office is soft on traffic enforcement, period, full stop.
Mark says
Traffic violations are hardly law, more like a guideline, and if you see police breaking these so called traffic laws ,chances are its not a big deal. Everyone knows there is no need to fully stop when turning right at a light or stop sign. Also Belle Terre has always been drivin at 60 mph regardless of the posted speed limit which is more of a guideline. Switching lanes without a blinker is hardly a law and definitely not something to complain about. When I speak of giving people a break, I speak of things like possessing and using cannabis in public, or selling loose cigarettes.
Dennis says
Staley wants to build an empire? A bit ago there were 3 sheriffs cars gathered in the side parking lot of Cracker Barrel. Two when we entered and three when we left an hour later after a Sunday morning breakfast. Get the sheriffs you have back to work.
Dennis C Rathsam says
Palm Coast is as safe as it ever was. The sheriff has done a wonderfull job, but 10 more deputies? Its time to cut back, not spend more. You folks throw around our tax money, like its a never ending river of cash. We seniors suffer the most. We have to live on a fixed income, everytime you raise something, we have to scramble, now with this moron in the white house, gas, food, housing, & almost everything is skyrocketting! Now the Feds are killing us, the county is killing us, the city dont care! We seniors are being penalized….Iworked my whole life, started at 12, in my uncles Italian deli, retired from GM after 33 years of service. I know how to work, I know how to save, its just my body is all beat up,from all those years chasing Cadillac’s & Chevvys down the line. I cant go back, Im too old, everyone wants young blood! Every senior should get a tax break starting at age 68. One from the county, and one for the city. We have already done our part, we only have a few years of quality retirement, before the doctors become our best friend.
Jimbo99 says
Perhaps the request is based upon the increasing population growth for the city/county ? When they’re building rental duplexes & affordable/unaffordable apartment like we’re seeing for new construction. This area is growing and crime will rise. A police presence has to pace the per capita growth. So we’re back to the millions spent/proposed for a splash pad & now pickleball expansion for a tennis center. I’m on record as stating that while those parks & recreational amenities may attract families, that police & fire protection were more important basic needs issues to fund prior to committing to the luxuries for attracting this family growth. There is a fine line for budgeting & funding needs & luxuries in an optimal mix. I have yet to see a government ever grow efficiently in my lifetime. Provide a safe community with quality jobs and families will relocate. Unfortunately, we will always have that juvenile delinquency & crime, because that’s what the human race is about, kids will be kids thing. So even the families that relocate here are going to have their statistical share of an increase in crime. Anyone in denial of these facts really hasn’t been paying attention to their own lives while they were growing up & living their lives. Funny in an odd/strange way, 2020 was about cries to defund police, for 2021 we’re seeing don’t defund the police, but don’t fund them for the growth & for lack of a better term, a futuristic vision for Palm Coast & Flagler county, growing pains. And in too many instances for the reads I’m seeing, everyone wants more, but nobody wants to pay for it. This all boils down to individual responsibility, keep on growing population and the quality of life declines across the board, only because 5 lbs of poop never fit into a 2 lb bag, that never turns out well. So we’ll see cycles of mismanaged poverty & growth with prosperity. The last 2 decades has been a decline in the quality of life in America as it continues to erode. Schools are already a topic of discussion for this new era of a population explosion across America. Sad that we have Biden-Harris that want to make illegal immigration a driver for this. And DeSantis he’s not going to governor forever, like all politicians the timing is everything in the game of musical chairs where they don’t want to be in power/office when the poop hits the fan. And naturally they’ll all blame the predecessor or the heir to the throne. And on that day, the same howling whines of where the money is coming from to pay for it will be what every government council meeting becomes. Brace yourself, taxes are going to increase, that has always been the economic model, nothing ever really changes, does it ?
Another issue, as local traffic is increasing on the roads. Those roads that were paved during 2020 for a pandemic, those are nice, but look at the 2021 road repair projects. And if you haven’t noticed, Belle Terre, Royal Palms Parkway, those roads are now getting bumpier, there are outright potholes where the traffic flow, the rains and general wear & tear require a repaving.
Montecristo says
Yea, let’s give the public safety sector what they need.
I have one issue.
Stop the hype and lying to your council.
In yesterday’s budget workshop Councilman Barbosa asked a question to the the Finance Department.
What happened to the 1.2million negative in the budget? Barbosa and Council were asked for a letter of support to raise sales tax.
The reply was the revenue numbers were updated we are now at a break even. (INFORMATION NEEDED BEFORE THE VOTE OF SUPPORT LETTER DON’T YOU THINK?)
Here is my problem with all of the City Staff, County Commission and Sheriff’s office.
You asked for a .5% increase in sales tax saying we can’t afford new firetruck, more deputies and repairs to roads without it because of the 1.2 million short fall.
Now there is none???
Stop the hype, stop the show boating, stop the lying, know your number and do your job!
We have the most ineffective City staff when they can bring non-viable financial information to the Council.
Like our paving of streets.
Flagler Beach and Bunnell paved with a different process not offered by the local paving companies. The process is a third of the cost for roads that can use this process.
The City Staff member that insisted that the process is not proven rather not pave than use a system that prolong roads. You need to stop worrying about the two paving companies that get all the contracts since Palm Coast was born.
Flagler Beach and Bunnell don’t have the money to pave either but they did something rather than nothing. Next time you are visiting Flagler Beach look how nice their roads are.
We need a top level City Manager that can make decisions, direct staff and fire the ones that keep making bad decisions costing us more taxes.
Staff: Know your numbers before you speak.
Montecristo
Skibum says
I support our local law enforcement here in Flagler County. Although we are fortunate to live in an area where we do not see the high volumes of crimes that other areas in this state are experiencing, we need to remember that it is a partnership between our law enforcement agency and the community members that helps keep Flagler County and Palm Coast in particular a safe place to live and work. The sheriff did not come before the city council with vague guestimates or a wish list that was drawn up in his head. The information presented was the result of an independent study with specific data showing that calls for service have increased, straining the resources of the sheriff’s office. When you call 911 and expect a quick law enforcement response to an emergency, the last thing you want to hear is that there will be a delayed response time due to deputies all tied up on other calls. When staffing has not kept up with the amount of calls for service, that is exactly what can happen, and Sheriff Staly is presenting this problematic scenario for the council’s review and action BEFORE it gets to a critical level resulting in delayed response times due to the normal increase in calls due to population increase, etc. If we do not acknowledge this potential and take the necessary steps to mitigate a staffing shortage in our law enforcement commitment, then we are only shooting ourselves in the foot and telling our law enforcement officers that we are not going to be part of the solution – they are on their own. I for one, refuse to do that, and implore the rest of us to make sure that law enforcement funding for Palm Coast remains a priority funding item.
Man Free says
Staley……… the answer is NO. You want your own little Napoleon Army then go to Miami or Orlando. Here’s a list of what the Palm Coast residents need to be safe from crime.
1. Pass open carry for all LEGAL citizens
2. Sell your Mustangs and Chargers and get a smaller , less gas guzzling vehicles. ( You don’t need to chase cars at more then 100 mph)
3. STOP officers from gathering for 2 hours everyday for lunch. (I get 30 minutes, they should to.)
4. Use Volunteer’s for Neighborhood watches, ( They can use their own vehicles and gas )
5. Build a SMALLER operation Center NEAR the Jail.
6. Quit acting like Wyatt Earp and more like a rational Deputy Dog. ( I’ve seen you shoot at the range, you suck )
Shark says
Wow – Now instead of five Deputies at a minor accident there will be fifteen.
tis the season says
Ten more deputy’s , ten more santa suits to buy for the holiday season of traffic tickets. Ho, Ho, Ho!
Shark says
Needs more deputies to run radar on I95 !!!!!
FlaglerBear says
Deputies respond to a call of a man barricaded in a home with a rifle, after hours of negotiation, they successfully extract the man without injury. Deputies chase a man down on US-1 and stop him, thinking he’s armed they’re forced to bring in heavy equipment to block his car in. Eventually negotiators talk him into surrendering. Female deputies are called to an overpass on I-95 to talk a suicidal female threatening to jump down, they do it successfully. Every week, neighbor disputes, lunatics with guns, fugitives from other jurisdictions (many of them armed), narcotics traffickers, escaped felons, violent confrontations. Some of the more bizarre incidents make Flagler Live, many don’t. I read the public comments…”great job FCSO!” , “Keep up the good work!” Isn’t it nice to have people around to do YOUR dirty work? Folks that show up at 3am when you hear glass breaking, or you have an issue you can’t handle? You’d be surprised and shocked what people call the police for. Except…You don’t want MORE deputies. You only want to see them when you pick up the phone and dial 911. You don’t want to see two or three in one place at one time. You don’t want to see their vehicles, or their pretty decals, or uniforms. You don’t like to see them eating, having coffee or breathing. You certainly don’t want to see them in your rear view mirror when you’re speeding on Belle Terre Parkway, which you do often. But they’re really great when they disarm a wanted murderer from Georgia at 6am in the parking lot of a WaWa while you slept peacefully. You just don’t want more of them around. They annoy you. Hey, maybe you’ll get your wish. A lot of folks don’t want to be cops anymore. Not with people like YOU they have to protect.
Concerned Citizen says
Why is the City Of Palm Coast allowing the Sheriff to charge enormous amounts of money for a service he is required to provide?
Palm Coast is still in Flagler County. And the Sheriff is legally required to provide Law Enforcement services. I have lived all over the place. And this is the first time I have seen an elected official extort money from a municipality. And continues to get away with it because our Council and Mayor won’t say no sir. That’s too much.
And on another note.
Don’t get me wrong. I support our Public Safety folks 100%
But I drive a lot for my job. And loose track of how many times Deputies are parked sometimes 3 cars deep in a side lot somewhere hiding and talking. Instead of patrolling or working traffic. I get the job is stressful. I get that it’s long hours. But how much more prevention or traffic enforcement could be accomplished if you were patrolling and maintaining a presence? That would mean your more visible. And require less money from Palm Coast to do your job.
Monti says
The FCSO is doing a good job with the deputies they now have. Crime is down with the Deputies we now pay for.
The increase is unnecessary and should be denied.
A.j says
Possible property tax increase. Asking for more policing. Go ahead Repubs, drain the P C. citizens. I voted for a Dem. Mayor, you Rebubs are bad. God bless a Dem. to win the special election. You Repubs are bad. Just saying.
palmcoaster says
This county needs to fund the sheriff 75% of the taxes Palm Coast pay to FCBOCC to fund the sheriff and Mr Staly put the deputies to work in traffic monitoring other than as witnessed by several residents! Enough bleeding the Palmcoasters pockets so county waste our hard earned taxes in frivolous useless contaminated, overpriced real estate purchases from their buddies to be sold for peanuts afterwards! Another castle to be build this time to the sheriff…excuse me but Palm Coast is made of single family homes were a couple children and grand parents reside so they can afford to pay the bills and the double ad valorem taxes to the county of what we pay our city that offers us most of our costly services…like road maintenance, etc. etc. Mr. Staly went to the wrong entity to ask for more money.,, ask the FCBOCC instead or otherwise funding PC police department will become a need as last resource.