How much did David Morgan say he would cut the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office budget if he was elected?
I’ve reviewed our archives and those of the PNJ and can’t find a dollar amount, especially not the $6.8 million that the County Commission wants him to cut.
Morgan’s statements on the budget were:
“To work within the Sheriff’s Office budget, to zero-base the budget in planning new budgets and to look for budget cuts within the agency.”
He said that he would cut administration and put more deputies on the street. Morgan talked about raising salaries and hiring up to 70 more deputies.
To date, he cut the helicopter program – $600,000-$800,000 savings, hired his senior staff at less than what their predecessors made, asked to move the budget function over to the Clerk of Courts and vetoed a training facility that saved the county $11 million in LOST funds.
Sheriff Morgan needs to cut his budget. However across-the-board cuts aren’t practical. It assumes all departments have equal value and importance. They don’t. It also assumes that the same about excess exists in all department. It doesn’t.
County commission needs to set priorities on the needs of the county, determine what programs meet those needs and then cut appropriately.