Alachua County’s constitutional officers and elected leaders presented mostly continuance budgets before the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) at a Tuesday morning special meeting—though some special increases and decreases will come.  

The constitutional officers—tax collector, property appraiser, sheriff and clerk of the court—along with the public defender and state attorney, are required departments that every Florida county must fund, though they largely operate outside BOCC direction.  

Tax Collector John Power said his budget would decrease. He joked about feeling darts in the back of his head from the other officers. 

The reduction comes as his office pays off the loan that funded the construction of the Northwest Public Branch (5830 NW 34th Blvd.). Power said the office is paying off the loan five years early, saving over $100,000 in taxpayer dollars by avoiding future interest. 

Power said the rest of his budget remains a continuation from the previous year. He said the office is seeing use of the new kiosks installed at Publix. He said the vendor is currently happy with the numbers and believes traffic will increase over time.  

Power also said he supported the plan for a 4% cost-of-living adjustment to county salaries. He said it’s important to keep their experienced staff.  

Property Appraiser Ayesha Solomon requested an increase in her budget to hire two entry-level positions for a satellite office in Newberry. The office would have space in the upcoming Newberry City Hall that is under construction.   

In total, her budget request for the next year is around $400,000 more than the current one of $9.9 million. 

Solomon said the new office would help ensure the property appraiser’s resources are spread throughout the county as needed. She said Newberry has seen a lot of growth, and the city of Alachua already has a satellite office. 

“These new positions will be responsible for walk-in support, homestead exemption processing, public inquiries, and community outreach within the west region,” Solomon’s office said in a budget document.  

From 2022 through 2024, western Alachua County has contributed approximately 60% of total new construction value added to the tax roll, has accounted for 71% of all residential sales and has dominated the number of new homestead applications with 65% of all new filings.   

Public Defender Stacy Scott said her office is requesting a $100,000 increase in its budget. The office has maintained a flat budget since 2022, and she said the office anticipates not needing additional increases for the next four years.  

The main driver for the requested increase is IT costs. The office uses a management system to track all the cases it is assigned. The price for that system rose 88% in the last year as the vendor unveiled an updated version with new features. 

Scott said the new features will benefit her staff, but the office will need to deal with the cost. Her office is locked in a four-year contract for the new system to ensure no rising year-over-year costs. 

Scott said the office is looking to add an AI program that will assist in reducing staff time to watch and transcribe videos and other tasks.  

State Attorney Brian Kramer said he’s in the same situation as Scott. The state attorney’s office uses the same management system from the same vendor. But he said the office was able to shift around some leftover funds to cover the 88% increase in the next fiscal year.  

After that, though, Kramer said, he’d return with a request to cover the cost. Besides that, he plans next year’s budget to mirror the current one.  

Sheriff Chad Scott oversees the largest budget of a constitutional officers, around $137 million. He said the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) plans to raise base salaries to $60,000 in fiscal year 2026-2027 and $62,0000 by the following fiscal year.   

He said a large part of the budget changes involve keeping wages competitive to surrounding agencies. He said a recent increase in salaries at the Gainesville Police Department has helped its recruitment efforts.   

Scott added that the office needs staff for building maintenance as new precinct offices have opened in the last couple of years and funding for two staff members in its mental health-related co-responder teams.   

“We’re responding to more mental health calls than ever,” Scott said. “This group has been amazing for our agency, and we really want to increase it.”  

Scott also said the office is moving toward creating a real-time crime center.   

The Supervisor of Elections Office plans to keep the same budget as last year, but Carl Delesdernier, chief deputy supervisor, noted that elections are getting more expensive each cycle. 

Delesdernier said new requirements and processes add to the work, but he said the office has been able to absorb many of the costs. He said the budget proposal, as usual, doesn’t include a buffer for any special election that is called.  

Clerk of the Court and Comptroller Jess Irby said he is requesting a continuance budget and supporting the 4% cost of living adjustment and recommending a 2% increase for insurance costs.  

Total budgets requested

• Alachua County Sheriff’s Office
  • Total Budget: $136.96 million
  • Nearly $1.1 million for additional employees
• Alachua County Property Appraiser
  • Total budget requesting: $10.3 million
  • Nearly $400,000 in new expenses
• Alachua County Clerk of Court
  • Total Budget: $4.3 million
  • Recommending 4% cost-of-living increase
  • Recommending a 2% increase for health insurance
• Alachua County Supervisor of Elections
  • Total Budget: $4.2 million
• Alachua County Tax Collector
  • Total budget: $10.9 million
  • Down from $11 million
• Office of the State Attorney
  • Total Expenses: $869,000
• Office of the Public Defender
  • Total Expenses: $452,000