HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Hillsborough County will vote Thursday to approve its budget for the upcoming year and one item drawing scrutiny from some is a multi-million dollar increase for the sheriff’s office budget.
Despite cries to "defund" law enforcement, Hillsborough County Commissioners will consider a significant increase in funding for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office as part of approving the county’s overall budget.
This year’s sheriff’s office allocation was around $462.5 million and the sheriff is asking for an increase up to around $480 million.
The county says that the requested $17 million increase would go towards replacing aging vehicles and hiring around 60 new deputies a year through 2025.
This comes at a time when the county is seeing significant growth. The sheriff's office serves 1.4 million residents across Hillsborough County and around 965,000 throughout unincorporated areas.
That gives HCSO the second-largest service population of any sheriff’s office in Florida. The Hillsborough Sheriff's Office is considered the 12th largest county law enforcement agency in the country.
But members of the Black Lives Matter Movement and Restorative Justice Coalition say its time to rethink who responds to some of the calls for service across the county, especially when it comes to mental health and homelessness.
They’d like to see some of the sheriff’s office money spent in other ways.
Public comment will be heard as part of Thursday night's virtual meeting which begins at 6:00 p.m. before commissioners vote on the budget.
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