Budget increase seeks to make OCSO competitive with other local agencies
From Orange County Commissioner Bryan Nelson
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is running low on staff and competitive salaries play a role in that shortfall. Compared to the Orlando Police Department, OCSO is 18% below the starting pay for their agency. Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings asked the Orange County Board of Commissioners for an $18 million increase to his budget to attempt to overcome this competitive disadvantage.
Not only does the OCSO have a smaller staff per capita than most agencies in the area but they also are protecting a district with a vast population and area. The OCSO operates with a budget of $215,380,901, while the Orange County average is $407.39 per capita and the top 15 law enforcement agencies in Florida average at $418.74 per capita.
Shown by a local salary comparison OCSO is number five on the list that shows the Orlando, Apopka, Winter Garden, and Winter Park police departments ahead of them. The proposed pay plan by OCSO would move them up to number two on that list with a $46,009 minimum salary only below Orlando with a $48,277 minimum salary.
Even with the salary savings, the department has had to make cost-saving options. Some of these options include leveraging state and federal forfeiture funds for large capital equipment and reduced new fleet purchases. New vehicles that would be used to protect and serve the county had to be reduced because of lack of money in the budget. The OCSO also planned to replace their existing aviation equipment, but unfortunately, it had to be postponed due to a lack of funds. This includes helicopters that would be used to chase down criminals or find missing persons. The department needed money to keep their daily operations up and running and they were given over $58 million dollars in county and regional grants since 2008 which has kept OCSO holding on.
The department has plans to innovate and better their agency to make it easier and safer to catch criminals. Innovations such as public and private neighborhood safety patrols, false alarm ordinance, GPS mapping devices in responder vehicles, task forces, and wellness programs. In 2016, the OCSO received 1,303,940 total calls, which is up six percent since 2012. Officers are called for alarm warnings in citizens homes every day and more often than not they waste their resources because of a false alarm. Minor problems like a false alarm drain the money slowly from OSCO’s budget. This budget is diminishing each and every year and now the OCSO is reaching out to the government for any help they can get. The men and women watching over the citizens request more help and an increase in pay which Orange County government seeks to do what they can to compensate them. The sheriff has given back $9 million over the years and he stated that he “was hoping that that could be used for a rainy day.” He now says “that day, has come”.