SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey and Vice Chair Bryan Lober Discuss Details of County Commission Meeting

By  //  July 25, 2019

SPACE COAST DAILY TV SPECIAL PRESENTATION

SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey and Brevard County Vice Chair Bryan Lober discuss the details of yesterday’s commission meeting which saw County Commissioner John Tobia’s civility proposal discussed and dismissed with a no vote due to an apparent lack o support from a majority of the commissioners. The meeting can be seen HERE in its entirety. Also during the commission meeting on Tuesday, the commission voted 4-1 to declaring a “critical need” in approving Sheriff Ivey’s budget proposal that would increase the tax rate for the law enforcement budget. Tobia was the lone “no” vote.

BREVARD COUNTY • VIERA, FLORIDA – During the Brevard County Commission meeting on Tuesday morning at the Government Center in Viera, the commission voted 4-1 to declaring a “critical need” in approving Sheriff Ivey’s budget proposal that would increase the tax rate for the law enforcement budget.

Voting to approve the request for a “supermajority” was Commissioners Rita Pritchett, Bryan Lober, Curt Smith and Kristine Isnardi. Commissioner John Tobia was the lone “no” vote.

Following are the details of Sheriff Ivey’s critical needs:

Operations: The Sheriff’s Office continues to operate cost-effectively and Brevard’s citizens pay much less for their Sheriff’s Services than citizens pay in other Florida Counties.

Although BCSO calls for service have increased from 411,246 to 476,749 between 2014 and 2018 (significant 15.93% increase), the crime rate for the unincorporated areas of Brevard has observed an overall decrease of 29% since 2012.

This is an incredible achievement as it clearly demonstrates that our partnerships are making Brevard County a safer place to live, work and raise our families.

The following graphs regarding law enforcement and Jail costs best illustrate the cost-effectiveness of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office:

Attrition: Since January 2016, 226 sworn positions within the Sheriff’s Office have been vacated; 123 or 54.4% have left due to retirement or to seek employment with other agencies with more competitive salaries.

The turnover rate results in an increase in the costs to replace staff. The competition for quality law enforcement candidates is high. Each time a sworn position is vacant, there is an investment of $9,642 to recruit, train and prepare the candidate to perform their sworn duties.

The Sheriff’s Office has not requested any increase to overtime funding.  Yet, as a direct result of the vacancies associated with the separations, agency personnel are required to work beyond their normal schedules.

Critical Needs Justification

The Brevard County Comprehensive Plan requires 2.0 deputies per 1,000 residents. Currently, there is a 60 deputy deficit of compliance with the Board’s Comprehensive Plan design. Based on FY 2020 projected population estimates, the deficit will grow to 80 deputies. The last Board authorized patrol deputy increase was in FY 2004, which was 32 deputies funded by a Federal COP grant.

School Safety: In 2018, the Florida Legislature presented the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act to protect Schools, Students, and Educational Staffs from the threat of active shooters and mass casualty threats. The statute mandates school security. The BCSO operated with 10 School Resource Deputies prior to the legislative act.

As of August 2019, the Sheriff’s Office will operate with a sworn School Security component of 40 School Resource Deputies. The school reimbursement program funds a portion of the financial impact ($2,423,100) with an unfunded FY 2019-2020 fiscal impact to the Sheriff’s Office of $1,068,738 (not including $650,000 in associated equipment and vehicle costs).

BCSO Equipment Needs – Vehicles

Currently, there are 850 vehicles in the Sheriff’s Office fleet.

The agency currently has a deficit of 280 replacement vehicles due to funding availability.
As a direct result of this deficit and the utilization of high mileage, less reliable vehicles, the agency is experiencing a significant increase in maintenance and repair costs.

As an example, the Sheriff’s Office operates all inmate transportation to and from the three courthouses with a 1997 Blue Bird bus, which has well in excess of 200,000 miles, for court-related hearings and trials. Due to the age and amount of mileage accumulated, the bus is in constant need of maintenance and repair.

Tasers: The Sheriff’s Office utilizes less-lethal equipment commonly known as Tasers to minimize the risk of casualties and injuries to both citizens and deputies as much as possible.

There are currently 586 Tasers in operation, of which 75% are nine years of age or older. All of the Tasers are out of the 5-year warranty and replacement batteries and cartridges have been discontinued. The annual recurring fiscal impact to replace is $412,544.

AEDs: The Sheriff’s Office utilizes life-saving equipment commonly known as an AED (Automated External Defibrillator). There are currently 588 AEDs in operation, of which 90% are six years of age or older. All the AEDs are out of the 5-year warranty. The annual recurring fiscal impact to upgrade/operate is $32,846.

NARCAN: With the opioid epidemic, the Sheriff’s Office has issued Narcan to all deputies and the County Jail receiving staff. Narcan (Naloxone HCI) nasal spray is an emergency treatment to counteract the life-threatening effects of an opioid overdose.

The total annual recurring financial impact is $42,000. Additionally, there is a significant financial impact to the Sheriff’s Office, which includes 3,737 Brevard County Jail inmates who during 2018 required medical treatment for opioid addiction and the investigative costs relating to overdose deaths (Brevard County 172 overdose deaths in past 24 months).

BCSO Partnership Accomplishments

As true fiscal partners with the Board, the Sheriff’s Office is providing solutions and funding for critical operational capabilities, adequate space needs, infrastructure upgrades and repair needs in the form of $542,000 – $737,000 annually since FY 2007, for debt payments on the acquisition and construction of the North Precinct building, the Aviation Hangar at the Merritt Island Airport, the purchase of the Criminal Investigations Building and the CAD/RMS/JMS system. Since FY 2007, BCSO has provided $7.7 million in debt payments to the Board.

The Sheriff’s Office continues to be a fiscal partner with the Board by providing inmate labor to address lawn care and maintenance for all County Government facilities (28 properties 362 acres) at no expense to the Board. Annual Board savings of $200,000.

An additional $152,000 is required, which the Sheriff’s office is addressing for the BCSO Parkway Complex – Communications Center 800 Mhz Radio Tower that requires structural repair and upgrades to allow for microwave connectivity to the 800 Mhz radio system, generator, and dedicated data circuits.

The BCSO offered BCFR a very unique opportunity to share BCSO’s IT Servers and upgrade their Tiburon CAD system, which is experiencing the end of life phase.

The option, which was accepted by the Board, allows BCFR to upgrade to a Tyler New World CAD platform, bringing tremendous value to the operational effectiveness of BCFR.

The valued partnership allows the Board to complete the upgrade using existing BCFR Dispatch CAD maintenance allocated funding with no additional financial impact while creating a significant onetime savings that is estimated to be between $500,000 and $700,000 by negating the need for a costly BCFR infrastructure investment.

The financial impact to the Sheriff’s Office to expand IT Server capacity to accommodate BCFR needs is a BCSO financial impact of $42,000.

No other Constitutional Office or Board Department is asked to fund the solutions and funds for their operational needs.

BCSO West Precinct currently shares a building at the Government Complex with the Public Defender’s Office.

The BCSO Evidence Unit is also housed in approximately 5,000 square feet in the Parkway facility.

These units have outgrown the space and require additional space for Deputies, Communications, Dispatch and the storage of evidence for on-going cases that are awaiting trial.

The Sheriff’s Office utilizes the Brevard County Radio 800MHz Network for public safety communications. Currently, the Agency operates approximately 1,645 mobile, portable, and base station radios on the network.

This network has been going through major upgrades and will be migrating to a statewide mandatory radio standard in FY 2023. As a result of this migration, the current radio inventory will need to be replaced.

Over the next four budget cycles, a total fiscal impact of $6,459,720 in radio replacement equipment will be realized. (Annual fiscal impact $1,614,930).

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