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Board of County Commissioners Special Call Meeting Minutes - Final October 20, 2025
<br />Sheriff's Budget Request, stating that on May 1 st, the Sheriff s Office submitted its
<br />original request for $93,547,675, an increase of $14.6 million, or 18.6%. At the July
<br />9th Budget Workshop, the Board requested the County Administrator to allocate
<br />additional funding to the Sheriff without increasing the millage rate. The proposed
<br />budget included $83,646,672 for the Sheriffs Office, an increase of $4,734,717 or
<br />6%. On July 23rd, a revised request was received from the Sheriffs Office totaling
<br />$91,126,840, an increase of $12,214,868, or 15.5%. At the August 11th Sheriffs
<br />Budget Workshop, the Board of County Commissioners approved an increase of $6
<br />million, totaling a 7.6% increase over the prior year's budget. He concluded that at
<br />the September 10th Preliminary Budget Hearing, the County Board approved an
<br />increase of $6,861,517 or 8.7% to the Sheriffs budget. The total final budget of
<br />$85,773,472 was approved at the Final Budget Meeting.
<br />Administrator Titkanich highlighted that the tax roll increase countywide was 8.8%
<br />and 8.7% in the incorporated area. This generated $8,681,310 in additional revenue
<br />for the General Fund, while maintaining the millage rate flat. The Sheriffs funding
<br />increased by $6,861,517, or 8.7%. This was a reduction from the initial request of
<br />$14.6 million to a revised request of $12.2 million.
<br />Administrator Titkanich stated that there had been extensive discussion about the
<br />funds and how the County could cover additional increases to the Sheriffs Budget.
<br />He briefly reviewed some aspects and provided an understanding of the budget and
<br />funds, noting that the General Fund was identified as the County's main operating
<br />fund. The Municipal Service Taxing Unit, or MSTU, covered expenditures related to
<br />the unincorporated areas of Indian River County. These two funds were the primary
<br />sources for funding the Sheriffs Budget. Additionally, Enterprise Funds operated like
<br />businesses, with services funded by user charges or fees rather than taxes. The
<br />revenues from these funds were restricted to their respective categories and could be
<br />spent only within those categories. He went on to provide examples to illustrate these
<br />points, reviewed the budget terms and requirements, and the Sheriff's Budget as a
<br />percentage of additional tax revenue and a percentage of the General Fund Budget.
<br />Administrator Titkanich mentioned that the Sheriff's budget was 53.1 % of the FY
<br />2025/2026 General Fund budget and displayed a diagram of the Sheriff's Office's
<br />Historical Budgets over the past 15 years.
<br />Administrator Titkanich recapitulated the Board's action on the FY 2025/2026
<br />budget. The Sheriff requested a budget of $93,547,675 on May 1 st, then revised it to
<br />$91,126,840 on July 23rd, after the Budget Workshop. The Board of County
<br />Commissioners approved an $85,773,472 budget for the Sheriff, representing a $6.8
<br />million increase, or 8.7% over last year's budget.
<br />The issue at hand concerned the Sheriff's lawsuit, which contended that the County
<br />had not provided written notice to the Sheriff of budget amendments. The Board of
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