INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Sheriff Deryl Loar needs to keep the “windfall” he has coming from changes in the state’s retirement program, he told County Commissioners Tuesday. The amount for the remainder of this year is about $450,000.
At last Wednesday’s budget workshop, the issue of what to do with approximately $450,000 in pension contribution savings the sheriff’s office will see in the final quarter of this fiscal year was raised and apparently resolved.
Based on discussions between the Sheriff, County Administrator Joe Baird and Commissioners it seemed to be agreed that Loar could keep the “windfall” created when pension contribution rules changed because he was operating within the budget allocated to him to run his office.
Loar also made the point on Wednesday that the change requiring employees to pay part of their own pension contribution had led several members of his department to retire. He said that payout expenses due to those retirements wiped out the “windfall,” so there was really nothing to return even if the Commission had the right to ask for the money back.
County Administrator Joe Baird has asked all the constitutional officers to refund their pension contribution savings, though none are required to give it back.
Commissioner Gary Wheeler said the money was the sheriff’s to use.
“It is part of his budget. He has the right to do what he wants with it,” Wheeler said. “That is legally untouchable.”
Board Chairman Bob Solari was less certain. He linked the issue to a separate question about capital expenses for the sheriff’s office in the next budget, suggesting that Loar should return the $450,000 in exchange for receiving sales tax money to purchase new patrol cars this fall.
Loar reiterated that the money saved this year was part of his budget and said he thought the commission had already agreed to spend $595,000 in sales tax money to purchase 18 new patrol cars to replace worn out cars.
He also said he has never come before the board to ask for additional money to meet unexpected expense in his agency and therefore should not be expected to return unexpected savings.
Wheeler backed him up again by noting that, unlike the county, the Sheriff’s Office does not have a contingency fund that it can carry forward from year to year. Instead, the office has to make do with the money it gets regardless of changes that take place within the year.
Commissioner Peter O’Bryan said that while the idea of using sales tax revenue to pay for new patrol cars had been raised, the Commission had not committed to an amount or a number of cars.
Loar said he had watched the video of the budget meetings and believed a commitment had been made.
“I think we are getting mixed signals here,” he told Commissioners this morning. “You are changing things in the 9th inning.”
In the end, it was agreed that Loar does not have to return any money from this year’s budget and that he will give the commission an accounting of how much money his office saved and spent due to the pension contribution change.
Commissioners said they would base the amount of sales tax revenue given to the sheriff for new cars on that accounting to some degree.
After the meeting Loar said he still believes the Commission did make a commitment at the budget workshop to provide funds for 18 new patrol cars.
“I feel like the rules have changed,” he said. “We have some negotiating to do.”