A faint outline of where the ‘Brooksville Police’ lettering was once boldly fixed is visible on the outside of the city department’s former headquarters. June 1, 2018: the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office will now oversee law enforcement within the city of Brooksville and several former Brooksville Police Officers will be sworn in to serve as Sheriff’s Deputies.
On May 22, 2018 The Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to pass the budget amendment that will pay for the contract between the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) and the City of Brooksville. This amendment follows the Interlocal Agreement that HCSO will provide law enforcement services to the city, beginning June 1, 2018.
According to Interim Budget Director George Zoettlein, the funds are expected from the City of Brooksville as stated in the Interlocal Agreement.
Commissioner Jeff Holcomb asked what will happen if the funds are not received by the city. Zoettlein said that the HCSO reserves the right to cease services until the money arrives. “I doubt if (Sheriff Al Nienhuis) will do that, if there’s a legitimate reason …”
The city will be paying $244,888 to HCSO for law enforcement services June 1 – Sept. 30, 2018.
For fiscal years 2019-2021 the total annual costs are estimated below:
FY 2019: $827,719
FY 2020: $854,566
FY 2021: $882,219
Total annual cost takes into account deductions of Lease credit and capital outlay (city equipment purchases per agreement).
The former police department building will be used by the Sheriff’s Office for a lease credit of $24,234 for the remaining fiscal year. The lease credits will be as follows in FY 2019-2021:
Fiscal Year 2019 : $72,702
Fiscal Year 2020 : $74,883
Fiscal Year 2021 : $77,130
