Okay, it’s time we quit ignoring the pink elephant in the room. The biggest sinkhole in the Escambia County budget is the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office budget. It has grown astronomically over the past eight years. There is no accountability for how effectively the dollars have been spent.
The ECSO posts no financial reports on its website. The county commissioners are only given a two-page memo every year.
An independent panel needs to be appointed to review all the expenditures by the ECSO. Are contracts being bid out? Is the department too top heavy? How effective are the helicopters, boats and mobile command center?
Most of all – where has the money gone????????
The County Commission can appoint a panel. Even if Sheriff McNesby refuses to cooperate, they can use public record requests to get all the information.
We have to rein in the ECSO budget. Do it now!