Sheriff Dr. Gregory Tony Says County Cuts Are Unacceptable, Unsafe, and Unworthy Of Broward…
BROWARD COUNTY, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2025 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Broward County Sheriff Dr. Gregory Tony is taking his budget fight to the state, appealing directly to the Florida Administration Commission after the County Commission slashed his funding request for the upcoming fiscal year. In a formal petition filed this month, Sheriff Tony claims the county’s approved budget leaves a $73.7 million gap, crippling his ability to pay employees competitive wages and ensure public safety. The appeal follows the county’s approval of a $935.3 million budget for BSO, a 3% increase, which fell far short of the $1.009 billion (a 9% increase) Tony argued was necessary.
The central conflict revolves around employee compensation. Sheriff Tony’s budget request was built on a comprehensive salary study by Evergreen Solutions, LLC, which found that BSO salaries are, on average, at least 19% below the market average when adjusted for cost-of-living. The petition argues this pay disparity has led to “serious and continuing” recruitment and retention challenges, with BSO losing staff to higher-paying agencies. Of the $73.7 million shortfall, the vast majority—$71.5 million—was cut directly from the ‘personnel services’ category, effectively rejecting the proposed pay increases.
In the appeal, Sheriff Tony characterizes the County Commission’s decision as “arbitrary and capricious,” accusing them of willful disregard for the facts. The petition claims commissioners ignored the “empirically justified” salary study and instead imposed a “pre-determined” 3% budget increase. Tony alleges the County prioritized “non-public safety goals” and “Commissioner-favored projects” while bolstering its own reserve accounts, including adding $40 million to one reserve fund that already contained $230 million.
The budget cuts also eliminated funding for critical new positions, including 25 Airport Safety Officers at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and four new deputies at Port Everglades, despite growth at both facilities. A $2.2 million ‘capital outlay’ request to replace items like a HAZMAT ambulance and new firefighter breathing apparatus was also denied. The petition contrasts Broward’s actions with neighboring counties, noting that Palm Beach County approved its sheriff’s 13% budget increase in full and Miami-Dade County fully funded its sheriff’s 11% increase.
Sheriff Tony argues that without state intervention, BSO will continue to fall behind its counterparts, jeopardizing public safety by failing to compete for a limited pool of qualified candidates. The appeal highlights that BSO’s municipal partners (cities it contracts with) and six of its seven employee bargaining units had already approved the new budgets and ratified contracts based on the proposed salary increases. The petition concludes with a stark warning that the County’s failure to act “abandons the core obligation of government” and that “Broward County cannot wait for a tragedy to occur”.
