BROWARD COUNTY, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2025) — Sheriff Gregory Tony is taking Broward County to the state level after commissioners approved a fiscal year 2026 budget that cuts more than $73.7 million from what the Broward Sheriff’s Office says it needs to operate safely.
The formal appeal, filed with the Governor’s Administration Commission, challenges the County’s decision to approve a 3% increase for BSO instead of the 9% increase Tony proposed. The gap represents the exact amount BSO is asking the state to restore: $73,714,903.
BSO says nearly the entire dispute centers on one thing — personnel funding. The agency argues that salaries across law enforcement, detention, fire rescue, and 911 communications are as much as 19% below market, citing an internal Evergreen Solutions compensation study completed in 2024. According to the sheriff, those low salaries have made it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain staff across every division.
The appeal outlines how Broward County removed $71.5 million from BSO’s personnel budget and another $2.19 million from capital outlay. BSO claims those cuts prevent it from implementing salary adjustments already negotiated with six of its seven employee bargaining units.
The sheriff’s filing singles out several critical areas it says were most affected:
• Detention — BSO reports more than 160 correctional officer vacancies and says continued understaffing has forced “mandatory overtime” to maintain basic jail operations.
• Fire Rescue & Emergency Services — The County cut $13.3 million from personnel and eliminated capital requests for a replacement ambulance, a new HAZMAT-unit ambulance, and new firefighter breathing apparatus.
• E-911 Regional Communications — The County cut $11.1 million, including new positions and salary adjustments BSO says are needed to avoid another staffing crisis like the one seen in 2021–2022.
• Airport & Port Everglades — BSO says the County reduced funding for public safety at both facilities by more than $17 million total, including eliminating 25 Airport Safety Officer positions and four Port Everglades deputy positions.
The sheriff argues the reductions put critical infrastructure at risk. The appeal notes that Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport now handles 35 million passengers a year, up from 22.6 million in 2008 — but staffing has dropped from 52 Airport Safety Officers to 22.
BSO also points to Port Everglades’ rising cruise traffic and the upcoming 29-story convention hotel as reasons staffing should be increasing, not shrinking.
The County, according to the filings, has countered that all constitutional officers were told to control spending because of revenue uncertainty, rising costs, and the need to contain the overall growth of the General Fund. Commissioners said they were attempting to maintain “equity” across all departments by keeping increases to roughly 2–3%.
But BSO says that comparison is flawed — arguing that unlike other departments, public safety agencies compete for recruits with surrounding counties offering higher pay and signing bonuses up to $20,000.
The sheriff’s office also disputes claims that the County lacks the money. The appeal states Broward’s FY26 budget grew by $425 million, with tens of millions added to reserve accounts while BSO received a comparatively small share of the increase.
BSO frames the issue as a public-safety threat, saying the County “cannot wait for a tragedy” before funding the agency at levels needed to recruit and retain personnel.
The appeal now moves to the Governor and Cabinet, who sit as the Administration Commission and have the authority to review the dispute and adjust the budget if necessary.
Broward Sheriff’s Office has produced the following video to help explain their budgeting crisis:
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