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The Frugal Sheriff

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THE SUNCOAST NEWS

Published: February 21, 2009

For years there was an annual late-summer rite that occurred all around Florida. The local sheriff, in good economic times or bad, would suggest in a public fashion the bad guys were winning the upper hand and the sheriff's agency needed more money to put extra personnel and equipment on the street to take back the initiative. These days, however, Pinellas Sheriff Jim Coats is cutting spending in response to the drop in revenue the county is experiencing as a result of the collapse of the Florida housing industry and the nationwide economic recession.

This week, Coats invited the area news media to the Pinellas County Jail. Sheriff's Office officials were conducting a tour of the four units at the jail complex on 49th Street they have closed since January of last year. The latest to be shuttered, a month ago, was the Female Security Center. The unit closings and related personnel actions are saving the Sheriff's Office $4.2 million.

In early February Coats announced a reorganization of the Sheriff's Office he hopes will reduce spending during the agency's current fiscal year by $2.5 million and $3.5 million next budget year, which begins Oct.1.

Up the road, Pasco County Sheriff Bob White has said his agency will forgo much of its share of Penny for Pasco sales tax revenue for the year so other cash-strapped parts of county government can spend it.

It appears the Age of the Frugal Sheriff is upon us. We wonder how far it will spread.

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