Janelle Irwin Taylor
As the House and Senate enter Day 2 of budget conferences to iron out details in the Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget, big differences remain on appropriations projects requests for Sheriff’s Offices in the Tampa Bay area.
According to the Senate’s first offer in the criminal justice budget silo, the Senate seems to be snubbing the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) while the House isn’t showing much love to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO).
The House has included in its budget a $7 million appropriation for HCSO for a new hangar facility to house the agency’s “growing fleet of aircraft,” according to the appropriations request from Republican Rep. Danny Alvarez.
That’s just half of what was requested in fixed capital outlay dollars for the new facility, but it’s a lot better than the $0 the Senate has included in its offer.
HCSO is requesting the hangar, which would be larger than its existing one, to “provide HCSO’s aircraft, personnel, and equipment better protection from dangerous storms such as hurricanes,” and it “would allow HCSO to provide space for partner agencies to store their aircraft temporarily when required.”
The appropriations request argues the funding is needed “to support the growing population” of Hillsborough County through adequate aviation support for patrol operations and investigations, as well as to respond to wildfires, requests for post-hurricane supplies, and search and rescue operations.
Meanwhile, the Senate has offered significantly less to HCSO for the acquisition of a new helicopter. Republican Rep. Traci Koster in her appropriations request for a new helicopter, asked for $7.75 million, funding that would add to the “unexpected balance of funding” in the agency’s current budget to cover the cost of an Airbus H145. The House budget includes about half that, at $3.875 million, but the Senate offer includes just $350,000.
The twin-engine helicopter would help the agency with “wildfire cessation, post-hurricane relief, and rescue operations,” according to the appropriations request. It would also allow the agency to expand its specialty law enforcement personnel, including adding SWAT and bomb technicians.
The new helicopter would allow HCSO to transport specialty officers and their equipment “directly to locations where they are needed to respond throughout the state of Florida.” The appropriations request says the “aircraft’s safety features, reliability, and maintenance cost make it both (a) practical and effective addition to HCSO’s fleet.”
Roles are reversed for PCSO, where the Senate has included $15.7 million in its budget to expand the agency’s Trinity substation.
The House has so far not included any funding for the project.
Sponsored by Republican Rep. Brad Yeager, the project is aimed at improving PCSO’s hurricane response and recovery by building out the Trinity substation, “which is much closer to the impacted areas west of US 19 should we have another storm surge event than our existing storage location in Land O’Lakes,” according to the appropriations request.
The facility “would provide for secure storage for water rescue vehicles, to include boats and high-water rescue vehicles, and would significantly reduce transit time to affected areas.”
The Senate included the total amount requested.
None of the three line items are finalized, meaning funding offers could change as lawmakers continue the budget negotiation process. Conferences will continue Wednesday and Thursday.
