Jacksonville sheriff puts down marker of 80 more police positions next year

The campaign for Jacksonville mayor has ended but the debate over adding more police in the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office could carry over into summer as mayor-elect Donna Deegan and Sheriff T.K. Waters put their stamps on how Jacksonville should bring down violent crime.

Waters wants to add 80 new police officer positions in next year's budget as the first installment toward putting 200 more positions in the JSO ranks, according to a proposal submitted to the Mayor's Budget Review Committee that is collecting requests from departments and agencies.

Deegan declined to comment on Waters' proposal until she has reviewed it.

Transition: Mayor-elect Donna Deegan names big-name advisers to lead her transition. Who are they?

Political repercussions: What does Donna Deegan's win in Jacksonville mayoral race mean for Florida Democrats?

Good times: Strong economy would send extra $100 million in property taxes for Jacksonville budget

Deegan has said she supports putting more officers on the street. She pushed back during the campaign against ads that claimed she wanted to defund the police.

"I have said repeatedly, regardless of what you may hear on television, that I will fully fund our police and that I will put more officers on the streets because I've seen the data that supports we need more officers on the streets," Deegan said during an April 20 mayoral debate at the University of North Florida.

But Deegan hasn't yet put a number on that objective. She'll take office on July 1 and then faces a July 15 legal deadline to submit her proposed 2023-24 budget to City Council, which then will have a summer of budget hearings and a final vote in September.

Waters, who is overseeing is first budget as sheriff since winning a special election last year, has scheduled his own session to highlight the JSO budget. He will have a July 19 town hall at the Prime Osborn Convention Center when he'll make his case for why JSO needs more officers for its patrols.

He said the town hall presentation "will show our city and our city leaders exactly where we are and what we need, and why you'll hear me ask later for extra police officers as we move forward every year."

The JSO proposal given Thursday to the Mayor's Budget Review Committee shows the agency is seeking 40 new police office positions by applying for a federal Community Oriented Policing Services grant. If JSO wins that COPS grant, the federal government would pay a large portion of the financial cost of those positions over the next three years.

JSO expects it will learn in September whether it won a grant. "I feel confident and I feel hopeful, but we'll see," Waters said.

JSO wants to create another 40 police officer slots paid for by the city's general fund.

Waters endorsed Daniel Davis in the mayor's race, joining him at campaign events and in political ads. Davis pledged to add 200 police office positions over four years if he were elected, saying he would add 50 positions per year.

Waters defeated Lakesha Burton last November in a special election for sheriff. Deegan selected Burton to be one of the leaders of her mayoral transition team.

Deegan announced last week that the public safety committee for her transition will examine the Jacksonville Journey, an initiative launched during John Petyon's time as mayor that combined enforcement and prevention programs. The public safety committee also will examine criminal justice reform.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville sheriff wants more officers to fight crime