ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick presented his proposed $147 million budget to the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday, noting that 98.7% of the increase is tied to pay raises for deputies and staff.
“As of yesterday, there are 1,057 members of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office,” the sheriff said, presenting the budget on behalf of the full agency.
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Personnel services make up 80% of the total budget at $115 million. Salary and benefits account for 79% of overall spending — a figure the sheriff said reflects where the bulk of public safety investment goes each year.
The proposal calls for a $3,000 base pay increase plus step raises for sergeants and below, pushing starting deputy pay from $60,500 to $63,500. Civilian employees would receive a $1,000 base increase plus step raises. The overall increase for sworn deputies below sergeant rank is proposed at 5.8%, while non-sworn personnel would see a 3.8% to 7% increase.
Competing with Jacksonville
The sheriff raised a pointed concern about the agency’s ability to compete for talent with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, which is transitioning to the Florida Retirement System, or FRS, for the first time.
“Out of all the agencies in the state of Florida, which is 67 Sheriff’s Offices, there is only one agency that is not on the Florida Retirement System plan, which of course is the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office,” the sheriff explained.
FRS portability has long been a competitive advantage for St. Johns County, allowing deputies to carry their retirement benefits to any of the other 66 sheriff’s offices in the state — or to agencies like the Florida Highway Patrol or Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission — without losing a single day of accrued retirement.
Once Jacksonville joins FRS, that advantage disappears. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office will offer a starting salary of $71,828, with pay approaching $90,000 at the five-year mark — a threshold the sheriff acknowledged St. Johns County cannot currently match.
“I’m not in a competition with Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, but I can tell you from my brothers and sisters, they’ll tell you that everybody wants to go to the bigger machine,” the sheriff said.
School safety: A growing cost
One of the most detailed sections of the presentation focused on school safety — a line item the sheriff broke out separately for the first time this year.
With 46 public schools currently operating and two new campuses opening — one in Silverleaf — and one in Nocatee — the Youth Resource Deputy program carries a total budget of $9.6 million, composed entirely of personnel costs and benefits with no equipment funding included.
The St. Johns County School District reimburses the sheriff’s office $7.3 million of that cost, covering hour-for-hour pay for deputies assigned to schools during the academic year. That reimbursement equals 69.2% of the program’s total cost.
“No, ma’am, we’re not there,” the sheriff told a commissioner who asked whether full reimbursement had been achieved. “Some of the areas are actually zero, or they went to the Guardian program, which I do not agree with.”
The remaining gap is absorbed by the county. When school is not in session, those deputies return to general patrol and augment other divisions, including criminal investigations and a newly launched juvenile diversion program.
The school crossing guard program adds another $2.2 million to the budget. Guards currently work 28 schools, staffing 78 posts and helping approximately 26,000 children travel to and from school each day. The four new positions requested this year — along with eight new crossing guards and two additional public service assistants — are tied directly to the opening of the two new schools.
The sheriff also noted that state funds may exist to offset crossing guard costs and said the agency is working with County Administrator Joy Andrews and school Superintendent Dr. Brennan Asplen to track down those dollars.
Operations, fleet, jail
Operating expenses have been squeezed by inflation, particularly in fleet costs. The base price for a patrol vehicle has risen from roughly $56,000 five-and-a-half years ago to approximately $88,000 today.
Capital improvement costs dropped by just under $9,000 this year, a result the sheriff credited to aggressive grant-seeking at the federal, state and local levels. Fleet debt currently stands at $6.1 million, with the agency using surplus funds to pay down loans rather than return money to the county at year’s end.
The jail, overseen by Director Jason Caban, carries a $34.9 million budget. The average daily inmate population is 414 — down 20 to 30 inmates per year — a trend the sheriff attributed to investments in re-entry programming, homeless reunification, job placement and education. The jail set a record last year with 25 GED completions.
Total annual bookings stand at 7,107. The E911 center, funded separately through a $0.40 per-line charge on landlines and cell phones, adds $2.1 million to the overall budget figure of $149 million but carries no direct cost to county general revenue.
Calls for service reached 289,000 through the computer-aided dispatch system, with 101,911 calls to the 911 center. Total inbound and outbound call volume at the dispatch center reached approximately 360,000.
The agency recently added a new air unit to its fleet, returning a Bell helicopter that had been on loan through the federal 1033 program. The unit is used primarily to support water rescue operations and provide real-time intelligence to fire, rescue and patrol units.
The county’s recommended budget will be submitted in July and once approved, take effect in October.