- May 28, 2026
Now that it seems to be raining county and sheriff helicopters at exorbitant expense to the taxpayer, we should be demanding that the county, the cities and surrounding counties be discussing how to eliminate expensive services by consolidating resources.
Before the hue and cry from elected officials begin, it has already been done to some extent in Flagler and in other counties. For instance, in Flagler in 2001, then city manager Dick Kelton and I came to an agreement on the Sheriff’s Office providing law enforcement services to the newly incorporated city of Palm Coast.
This agreement, even though Rick Staly has recently increased the city’s contribution by 300%, has saved the city millions of dollars in expenses through this consolidated effort over 25 years. While I was sheriff we merged the sheriff’s vehicle maintenance facility with the county saving close to $1 million a year.
In Duval County, the city merged with the county to lower administration costs and created efficiencies. With the city of Palm Coast accounting for close to 90% of the population of Flagler County and most of the economic and population growth, consolidation of the city and county should be considered, if we are serious about lowering taxes and bureaucracy.
In Broward County, the Sheriff’s Office oversees law enforcement for the county and 14 separate municipalities, fire and rescue and emergency management. The administration expenses savings has been dramatic.
So here are some practical suggestions. Combine all municipal law enforcement, fire and rescue and emergency management under the Sheriffs Office. With the 150% increase over 10 years in the sheriff’s budget, Rick Staly should have the administrative resources to oversee and integrate those operations into one comprehensive unit.
We should enter into interlocal agreements with St. Johns and Volusia County to provide combined helicopter, SWAT, K-9 and large incident command services. We already have such agreements for homicide, hazmat and regional drug interdictions.
The reasons businesses merge are to save costs through economies of scale and reducing administration expenses. We should think out of the box like businesses to stem the burdensome tax increases we are experiencing in this and every county in Florida due to growth, overspending and fiscal mismanagement. Ultimately the issue is not whether government spending is too large or too small, but whether it is efficient.
James Manfre is a former Flagler County sheriff
