The budgetary battle lines have been drawn in Orange County as the local sheriff, John Mina, is pushing for $13 million to provide his deputies with much-needed pay raises. Citing a slipping competitive edge over neighboring law enforcement agencies, the sheriff's plea underscores the urgent nature of the issue as he stated, "We have deputies right now watching to see what we do. I guarantee the application for Orlando police is already filled out," during a budget meeting on Thursday. "They’re just going to hit ‘click’ if they don’t get that raise," he further emphasized, according to ClickOrlando.
A decline in violent crime juxtaposes the financial plea—the sheriff highlighted a significant reduction in the homicide rate by over 37% this year, while violent crime overall saw a downward trend of more than 10% in recent years. Such statistics have been noted simultaneously with the announcement of an arrest in a high-profile case involving the tragic death of a 13-year-old girl. Yet, the looming question of how to finance the substantial pay hike remains unanswered, with the new fiscal year commencing on October 1st.
"We must act now - by October 1 or you will see the vacancies over the next several years and you are going to see a delay in response times you’re going to see loss of services, a rise in crime. and you are going to see people getting hurt because we don’t have the necessary people," Sheriff Mina said in an attempt to rouse the cooperation of county commissioners, as reported by WFTV. He fears a worsened staffing vacancy rate, which already stands at 10%, a figure not egregious when cast in the light of broader national statistics, yet still concerning for the local jurisdiction.
Determining the source of the funding is the current conundrum facing the county. With discussions of increasing taxes or possibly implementing an MSTU (multiple service taxing unit) hike, the pressure is mounting to make a decision. As noted by Mayor Demings, there is optimism for a compromise, with more budget hearings on the horizon.
