Despite controversy over the use of county funds this year, Broward Sheriff Tony Gregory has been granted an $84m budget increase for his department â after months of heated discussions with city officials.
The budget negotiations between the Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) and the County Board of Commissioners reached their conclusion on Tuesday as the commission voted to adopt its final budget for the fiscal year starting on Oct. 1. The increase will take the county's share of the BSO's budget for 2024-25 to $765 million.
It means Tony will get the $24 million needed to finish paying for three helicopters he controversially ordered using money given to fully purchase one helicopter â a move seen by many as forcing the hand of county officials.
The agreement came after protracted negotiations between the sheriff and county staff that the assistant county administrator characterized as "passionate." Just two weeks ago, they were $70 million apart.
The saga began in June when Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony proposed a budget north of $1 billion. That number was viewed as a non-starter as acquiescing to the sheriffâs demands wouldâve encumbered more than 90% of the Countyâs general fund.
Assistant County Administrator Michael Ruiz and BSO Colonel Oscar Llerena were tasked with finding common ground between the two sides.
âWe have a fairly open line of communication all of the time,â said Ruiz about Llerena, âI've referred to it as the âbat-phone.ââ
But that phone didnât ring much after the June meeting. The County stood pat, initially approving a $50 million increase, but during the first budget hearing in early September, Tony surprised the commission with a new figure.
âDespite the $50 million that's contributed, we need another $70 million just to keep the lights on. That's the reality,â he said.
After months of silence from the sheriff's office, commissioners were floored by the new request.
âToday is the first day that I have heard about the $120 million number,â said Commissioner Steve Geller during that meeting on Sept. 5.
READ MORE: Broward Sheriff's Office and county commissioners inch closer to a budget deal
Ruiz and Llerena got to work in the two weeks after that meeting
âThey were passionate conversations,â said Michael Ruiz, "You have to have a strong working relationship to get through passionate conversations and end up with a compromise.â
The compromise reached saw the Sheriff getting an additional $10 million in operations as well as the $24 million to pay off the helicopters. In total, the county increased the Sheriffâs budget by $83,950,270 dollars.
âWhile this compromise does not provide every dollar BSO requested,â said Sheriff Tony in a letter to the commission Monday, âthis compromise does offer significant benefit to both BSO and Broward County ⌠we consider any disputes over the FY24/25 budget allocation fully and finally resolved.â
With the increase in the sheriffâs budget, BSO now commands 55.7% of county funds compared to county agencies. County Mayor Nan Rich expressed concerns about the budget continuing to increase.
âThere has to be money for the other things, we can't close our parks our libraries, our homeless programs our affordable housing, all the things weâre doing,â she said, âYou go back and look at all the requirements, the things that we're responsible for as a county, I think he gets more than his fair share.â
To make the numbers work the County did have to delay some capital improvement projects by a year.
Despite not receiving the additional $70 million, BSO will be able to âkeep the lights onâ. When pressed on how this became possible, Col. Llerena answered, âOur job is to present our needs.â
Now that the money is in the Sheriffâs coffers there are still concerns as to how it will be spent.
Last month an audit of a newly built training facility saw the project come in over double its expected budget. It was revealed that BSO redirected $8.6 million that was earmarked for personnel salaries for the project.
Misallocation can also impact future budgets, as it has done with the BSO's helicopters.
