By B.C. Manion
The Pasco County Commission won’t adopt a budget until September, but commissioners already are taking issue with a proposal by Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco to staff the third floor of the jail in New Port Richey, at a cost of about $1.6 million.
“That’s a huge expenditure,” Commissioner Jack Mariano said at the June 4 commission budget workshop. “If there’s a way to avoid this jail expansion, I think we need to do that.”
Mariano said he’s concerned not only about initial costs, but ongoing expenses.
Nocco, on the other hand, said the expenditures are necessary.
“We’re beyond optional. We have to move forward. We don’t have as many beds as we have inmates,” Nocco said in an interview on Monday.
April jail figures show that on average there were 1,475 inmates in Pasco County Detention Center, which is 13.1 percent over capacity.
Nocco said he has used part of the third floor to accommodate inmate overflow. “We’re using overtime for people to work it,” he said.
If the situation doesn’t change, the county will be forced to send inmates to another county.
“If we start sending people out of the county, we’re hostage to whatever bill you send us,” Nocco said.
To minimize the costs of his proposal, Nocco wants to hire 27 civilian employees in the control room and shift sworn deputies to the third floor. Doing that lowers the impact of the expansion by about $600,000, he said.
On another front, commissioners raised questions about the potential of Tax Collector Mike Olson using excess funds to construct a new building, rather than returning them to the county.
Commission Chairman Ted Schrader said he’s heard that Olson wants to locate a building in the Wesley Chapel area.
Commissioner Kathryn Starkey wondered if the tax collector’s new building wouldn’t be something that would be better addressed as part of a facilities master plan for the county.
“Would this be jumping the gun?” Starkey asked.
Olson said it is too early to say how much money is involved and the last thing he wants to do is have a fight with commissioners.
He noted that his budget, which is approved by the state Department of Revenue, not the Pasco County Commission, is not due until Aug. 1. He also noted that none of his budget comes from property taxes.
Olson said he hasn’t had a capital budget request for 10 years, and he needs to replace his department’s office at 4111 Land O’ Lakes Blvd.
“The facility (Land O’ Lakes) has outgrown itself,” Olson said. “The parking lot is unsafe.”
The new Central Pasco location would include an area where applicants could take their driver’s license test on a course, Olson said, noting that design is the prototype of the future.
He also wants to add a regional office to serve the Zephyrhills and Wesley Chapel areas. That, too, would have a course where driver license applicants could take their driving test.
