Florida County Says Sheriff Must Bear Half Of $94 Million Budget Cuts

At least half the $94 million in spending cuts Broward County government anticipates next year would come from regional law enforcement and South Florida's jail system.

County commissioners vowed Tuesday that the Broward Sheriff's Office must share equally in the cuts that they will make in other services, including libraries and parks, animal control and environmental protection. Their position comes despite Gov. Charlie Crist's promise that law enforcement would not be harmed if voters approved property tax relief, which they did on Jan. 29. 'Everything is on the table,' County Mayor Lois Wexler said. 'Of course we want to maintain services and maintain employment for everyone, but I don't know if it will be possible.' Budget planners warned commissioners that the $94 million estimate is probably low. They predict the final figure will top $100 million and could reach $175 million because a stagnant real estate market will likely lead to a smaller tax roll and because they did not include money for employee raises.

During the next seven months, the commission will explore cuts including reduced hours at parks and libraries, taking away aid to community shuttle services and privatizing other services. They must come up with specifics before they approve a spending plan for the county's general operations, which this year cost $1.3 billion.

Commissioners laid out general principles they plan to follow: proportional cuts for the sheriff,the property appraiser and elections supervisor; targeted cuts in their own agencies rather than across-the-board cuts; and as few layoffs as possible. They also said they will not skirt the will of voters and raise tax rates to offset lost revenue.

Local officials warned residents during the run-up to the Jan. 29 referendum that the tax relief plan would result in reduced services. Still, some are expressing concern.

Eileen Mitger, 63, takes her three granddaughters to the Main Library in Fort Lauderdale at least twice a week. Because the girls' mother works late hours, the family visits for about an hour after 6 p.m. to pick out movies and books. 'We have our bus ride here and then we take time to look through the books, but we do it late,' Mitger said. 'There goes our little tradition if they really do push the hours back.' When county commissioners cut spending last year for an initial round of tax relief, law enforcement bore less of the burden than other agencies even though it comprises almost half of the county's general operations. Then-Sheriff Ken Jenne agreed to cut programs to prevent crime and keep first-time offenders from returning to the jail, in addition to delaying construction of a new jail.

Commissioners said Sheriff Al Lamberti, Property Appraiser Lori Parrish and Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes will be told about proportional cuts they must make, and that the commission will not engage in discussions of how to do so. They said they were aware that Lamberti could appeal his budget to Crist and the state cabinet, but said cuts must be equal.

Acting County Administrator Bertha Henry told commissioners that finding cuts will be difficult. 'The low-hanging fruit has been plucked, and this will be a very tough year,' she said. Staff Writers Joel Marino and Sallie James contributed to this report.