The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) was recently told the Pasco Sheriff’s Office (PSO) needs to hire 40 new deputies because of the explosive population growth the county is experiencing, as was discussed during the June 4 BOCC meeting.
Sheriff Chris Nocco shared the staffing needs of his office during an April 16 workshop with commissioners and reiterated those needs, among others, in a budget request he submitted on April 25.
The PSO needs a 9% increase in its budget for fiscal year 2024-2025 that begins on Oct. 1 and ends on Sept. 30, Nocco’s request said. The office currently receives $150 million and Nocco is requesting $165.5 million for the upcoming fiscal year.
And that 9% increase isn’t fully reflective of the full funding needs of the PSO, Nocco said in a memo to commissioners outlining some of the specific reasons behind his request.
The sheriff’s office currently receives 40% of the new property taxes the county receives because of the county’s growth. The office has been offered 10 new deputies a year in the past.
Commissioners have approved 10,000 new residences since July 2023 — this is in addition to the number of new businesses and industries that have opened in Pasco County since then — leading to the projected need of 40 more deputies, according to Nocco’s request.
Pasco County’s Property Appraiser Mike Wells estimated last month that there will be a 12.8% increase in property taxes. The final figure won’t be known until the beginning of July.
Nocco says that even if the 9% increase is approved, staffing of the sheriff’s office won’t be keeping up with the county’s growth. If they are able to hire 40 new deputies, it’s anticipated that it would cost $8.93 million during the first year due to the cost of training and equipment, and other miscellaneous costs.
Also included in the budget request are salary increases for all employees of the PSO “to ensure our agency remains competitive with surrounding agencies,” Nocco said, adding, “It is crucial we continue to attract quality applicants and retain our valuable members to provide the highest level of service to our community, so we do not return to the previous situation, which we had to address with members leaving for surrounding agencies.”
His request also included funds for capital expenditures, including armored vehicles, which currently are not budgeted by the sheriff’s office.
The FY 2024-2025 budgets won’t be determined for county departments until later this year.
In other business at the BOCC meeting:
- Commissioners continued a request for a zoning amendment made by Cherry Hills West MPUD Master Planned Unit Development – Veterans of Foreign Wars of US Major Francis E. Dade Post 4283 et al.
It had been requested that the zoning of a 34.07-acre parcel on the east side of VFW Post Road, approximately 275 feet south of State Road 52, be changed from an A-R Agricultural Residential District to an MPUD Master Planned Unit Development District. The applicant wanted to be allowed to develop a maximum of 160 single-family detached dwelling units on the site near the Pasco County Fairgrounds.
District 2 Commissioner Seth Weightman, and Chairman and District 1 Commissioner Ron Oakley both expressed concerns about the zoning change being approved without assurances that water and sewer services would be available for the development.
The applicant is currently seeking an agreement with Dade City to provide water and sewer services for the proposed project.
Weightman recommended the requested density of the proposed project be reduced by 50% so only 80 single-family homes could be built there.
Attorney Shelley May Johnson, representing the applicant, said she was confident Dade City would have water and sewer services available when the site plan for the proposed project is approved. That procedure normally takes several months after the approval of the request for a zoning amendment.
“We don’t know when the city’s gonna have sewer available for its customers. They’re all on hold. There’s no timeline for anything coming anytime soon,” Oakley said.
- Commissioners also agreed to allow plats to be recorded for three subdivisions that Len-Angeline LLC plans to develop on property in District 4; for two subdivisions that Thornwood Associates LLC, plans to develop in District 1; and for a subdivision that Brookfield Holdings LLC and EPG-Two Rivers LLC plan to develop in District 1.
Commissioners allowed all of the plats to be recorded after the applicants either posted Surety Bonds or Letters of Credit to cover the estimated cost of infrastructure improvements that haven’t yet been installed at the proposed developments.
- A comprehensive plan amendment was also approved to allow a maximum of 18 single-family homes to be built on approximately 92.6 acres of real property located at 17001 Bellamy Brothers Boulevard, Dade City. Sandarben LLC / Tarapani Planning Strategies were the applicants for the amendment. The property is located in east Pasco.
Published June 12, 2024
