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Board of County Commissioners Meeting Minutes - Final September 10, 2025 <br />funding for retaining current personnel, attracting recruits, and creating the safest <br />possible environment for the community. <br />Connie Kelly spoke about a situation that occurred in January 2024 and was not in <br />support of increasing the Sheriff's Budget. <br />A County resident who was watching the meeting online decided to attend in person <br />to show support for the Sheriff's Budget. <br />Marc Jaffe introduced himself as a resident of District 4. He inquired about the <br />starting salary for a deputy in Indian River County compared to the surrounding <br />counties. <br />There being no further speakers, the Chairman closed the public hearing. <br />Chairman Flescher addressed the issue of deputies leaving their positions, which had <br />been mentioned during the public discussion. While some records existed, they were <br />limited. With 67 counties in the state, the Sheriff's Association indicated that this was <br />a statewide challenge. He emphasized that the County had one of the lowest millage <br />rates in the state. However, counties with higher millage rates might attract deputies <br />with better salaries. <br />Chairman Flescher stated there was a suggestion for the Board to leave the $6 million <br />intact and take another $6 million from reserves. This was an alternative option. His <br />main concern was not to increase the burden on taxpayers, especially since the Board <br />could not change the millage rate. Additionally, he did not want to jeopardize their <br />ability to complete many of the projects they had committed to. He stated the options <br />to either maintain the $6 million they had earmarked for the Sheriff's Budget request <br />and take an additional $6 million from reserves to fully fund the request, or return the <br />funds to the General Fund and withdraw a total of $12 million from Reserves. <br />County Administrator John Titkanich reviewed the General Fund balance and stated <br />after accounting for non -spendable, restricted, and committed items, the usable fund <br />balance was $64.6 million. Additionally, there was a reserve of $4.4 million related to <br />projects and proceeds. The policy required a 20% unassigned fund balance of $28.9 <br />million. There was also a budget stabilization policy set at 5%, which equated to <br />$7.25 million, along with an emergency disaster relief reserve of 5%. Furthermore, <br />there were cash -forward budget amendments totaling $1.475 million for projects <br />Indian River County, Florida Page 5 <br />