Sheriff’s Remodel Request Leads to Workshop

Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods and the Marion County Board of County Commissioners have agreed to hold a workshop after Woods sent the board a request for unspent funds from the 2019-2020 budget to be used on a remodel and expansion of the Sheriff’s operations building.

“Working with County Facilities Management Director, Jared Goodspeed, it has been determined that the entire project will cost an estimated $5.2 million,” Woods said in the letter.

“Simply put, we have outgrown our existing office space and the remodeling needs to address issues which will help the layout of the building become more efficient,” he said.

The MCBOCC in April of last year approved shifting $2.1 million in unspent money from the 2019-2020 fiscal year that Woods’ office returned to the commission. The funds were reverted back to the general fund but earmarked for future improvements to the sheriff’s campus.

In his letter, Woods mentioned that some of the funds requested were originally part of that fiscal year 2019-2020 year-end turnback monies and “In a letter dated November 2020, when I returned year-end monies, I asked for the use of those funds for this purpose…and as far as I know, this was approved, and the monies were set aside,” he wrote.

In a Jan. 3 written response to Wood, Commissioner Jeff Gold said he could not support the Sheriff’s request and said the money should be used toward non-executive salaries and retention of “patrol deputies”.

Woods then countered with a letter Tuesday (Jan. 4) requesting a workshop on a date that all five commissioners can attend because Woods was unable to attend that day’s board meeting.

Gold referenced the letter exchange during Tuesday’s MCBOCC meeting.

“I saw this [Woods’ request]and thought ‘you know when we’ve got such a hard time retaining deputies and bringing more police officers given our situation in the country it’s kind of hard for me to say we’re gonna spend a couple million dollars to gut out your building and make it more efficient or whatever,’” he said.

“In my opinion, I think it should have gone back to the nonsupervisory deputies to try to retain them,” said Gold. “It can be laid out in a multi-year plan, which the Sheriff says he does…the sheriff wrote a good letter back, very respectful and I appreciate that, and we’re always gonna have differences on it.”

Commissioner Curry said he received an information packet on the request the day before the meeting and he, “was not really prepared to sit here and vote on this today, and I’d like to hear more about it from the sheriff.”

Meanwhile, Commissioner Kathy Bryant said she had no issues authorizing the Sheriff’s request, and “was fine approving the agenda as it was presented today and workshopping the remainder of things that have been identified.”

Curry agreed with Bryant and Woods on the idea of a workshop, and said his hesitations come from the later stages of the project.

“If the Commission back then agreed to send this money back, fine, we should live up to the word of the board,” said Curry.  “But what concerns me about what I saw in this packet is phase three, phase four, and phase five…it’s a little bit like getting in quicksand.”

Goodspeed explained to the board the phased approach was as result of needing the Sheriff’s Office to remain active during the projects, and rather than being looked at as five separate projects, it should be looked at as one project with five phases.

County administrator Mounir Bouyounes indicated that while the turnback money Woods returned would fund part of the project, “Once you go beyond the $2 million, you’ve got to take the money from somewhere else”.

MCBOCC Chair Carl Zalak III expressed hesitation over the idea of building anything with costs rapidly rising.

Zalak also believes the current request is part of a larger conversation involving the MCBOCC and MCSO regarding the multiple building projects either underway or projected.

Gold made a motion to table the request until after the planned workshop. Commissioner Curry seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

After the vote, Curry asked if the decision ran counter to previous board actions on the subject of turnback monies.  Bryant relayed that in the past, constitutional officers who requested turnback funds be put toward specific projects generally had their requests granted.  However, in an attempt to be more transparent and follow more of a process, the board has moved to scheduling workshops.

At the Nov. 16 MCBOCC, Woods asked for a total of $686,424 of unused funds from the 2020-2021 fiscal year, requesting it be used to purchase a BearCat armored vehicle along with the remodel and expansion plans for the sheriff’s operation building. At that time, the MCBOCC denied his request, but indicated that it would support purchase of the BearCat through penny sales tax.

According to Marion County spokesperson Stacie Causey, the proposed MCBOCC/MCSO workshop has not yet been announced.