There was a Brief Discussion on the Sheriff's Law Enforcement Trust Fund Process this past Thursday

Staff has now confirmed, after some confused statements from the dais last Thursday, that the ECSO does not send any money to any outside organizations for which funding from the Law Enforcement Trust Funds (LETF) is contemplated and requested--- prior to pre-approval by the BCC.  This is exactly how the process should be handled under Florida statutes....

This past Thursday there was a brief discussion among my counterparts about the process for disbursing funds from the County's Law Enforcement Trust Fund.  This discussion came as a sort of a shock to me, as I was under the assumption that we had ironed out the kinks in the previous process and had arrived at a place where the process was working well, and working as contemplated in statutes (i.e. ECSO vets requests for funding then makes recommendations for funding to the BCC, then the BCC votes, and then AFTER the BCC votes on the recommendations--the organizations are funded)

A question during the public forum led to some confusion among some on the dais which ultimately led to an inaccurate statement about the process being made at the meeting, which led to me asking some pointed questions for clarification to insure we were still doing what we are telling folks we are doing--which is approving requests from the Sheriff (and showing great deference to him and his selections for awardees) before funding occurs.  And come to find out--that is exactly what is happening.  After the discussions I confirmed with staff that the LETF funding for organizations from ECSO only occurs AFTER the BCC votes to approve such funding.

In the past, the funding allocations were made, and then the BCC was sent information after the fact to approve--which was a backward process and did not comport with statutes.  So that process was fixed and we are doing it correctly now.  Hopefully everyone on the dais now knows that the process is working correctly, and that NO public funds are sent and NO checks are cut from any public funds prior to BCC approval of requests from the Sheriff.  From the staff assessment that I requested after the confused statements at the meeting:

"The LET Fund had the following deposited revenues:

FY18/19 - $424,249.76

FY17/18 - $366,216.04

The $424K will be on the rebudget SBA at the 11-7-19 BCC Meeting. By statute we cannot budget for these funds during the budgeting process, we use the actual collections to establish the budget in the new Fiscal year.

The Sheriff consistently generates $300-400k each year in the LET.

The Clerk would hold that LET payment until the funds are officially recognized by the BCC and added to the budget.

I have emailed the Sheriff's office to verify how these agency funding requests are handled...

Handling of LET Requests:

The Sheriff’s Office brings the LET requests to the board for approval, after BCC approval they cut a check from their General Fund, get all appropriate backup/documentation for these funding requests, then submit to the Clerk’s Office to record the expense to the LET and reimburse the Sheriff’s General Fund. They do not fund an agency request prior to the BCC approval.

I confirmed this is how they are handled with the Sheriff’s Office."

Where Should the 1st 50% Go?

This is a question that I will explore today at the BCC meetings later this morning and this evening with an add-on item I will be bringing for the board's consideration.

With an intense focus on school safety happening statewide in the wake of Parkland--all eyes nationwide are on Florida.  Everyone is watching what happens next.

Governor Scott has put forth some solid proposals that have garnered support from stakeholders around the state.  But the tricky detail is funding.  Where will the continuing funding come from if we are to put a SRO or an armed and trained professional security guard in every Florida school? (There are 3,223 schools statewide)

I strongly support this plan but funding must be considered.  the $400 Million will not cover the costs-not even for this year.

According to Superintendent of Schools Malcolm Thomas, the allocation from the Governor's proposed fund for Escambia County schools will only be an additional $1Million dollars in the safe schools allocation, bringing this to a total of roughly $2.2 Million.  Thomas has stated that this amount is insufficient to even cover half of the schools in Escambia County with Armed security or SROs this year.  so it is an unfunded mandate coming right out of the gate....and if required going forward  but not funded--we could be looking at an unfunded mandate in the out years that would be ultimately absorbed by Counties throughout the state.

To mitigate this to some degree--or to create the beginning of a dedicated, recurring revenue stream to pay for these resource officers--I will be bringing the following proposal to send to our legislative delegation tonight:

Make the first 50% of all Law Enforcement Trust Funds statewide be obligated automatically to pay for SRO's or armed professional security guards in Florida County Schools.  Right now, SROs are an allowable expense for LET funds--however as we see in Escambia County and other places--these funds are often not utilized for SRO's.  Often times these funds are spent supporting non-profits and advertising.  As an example--on tonight's agenda we are being asked to fund the following from Escambia County's LET Fund:

A. AFCEA Blue Angels Pensacola Chapter, in the amount of $25,000;

B. Hadji Shriners, in the amount of $5,000;

C. Panhandle Charitable Open, in the amount of $30,000; (Golf tournament supporting multiple charitable non-profits)

D. Pensacola Mess Hall, in the amount of $5,000;

E. FavorHouse of Northwest Florida, Inc., in the amount of $12,000;

F. Pensacola Little Theatre, Inc., in the amount of $6,000;

G. Christian Surfers, in the amount of $5,000;

H. Pensacola Opera, Inc., in the amount of $5,000; and

I. Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, in the amount of $2,000.

Are these really the BEST places to allocate these LET funds?

So why not take the first 50% statewide and ensure, by statute, that we use this source of public funding for the most important cause--protecting schools and children!  If the law is changed, this will happen; it will no longer be a question of if SRO's and/or armed professional security guards at every Florida School will be fully funded--they will be funded or at least the funding for these officers in part will come from a dedicated, recurring source that is not additional taxpayer funds!