- March 8, 2025
To streamline operations and save money, Flagler County’s fleet maintenance has been consolidated with that of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
As of Monday, three Sheriff’s Office employees who oversaw maintenance of law enforcement vehicles are now county employees. Both the county and the Sheriff’s Office have a significant number of vehicles to maintain, and using one branch to do so will save money by allowing for economies of scale, said County Administrator Craig Coffey.
The Flagler County Board of County Commissioners approved the change Monday morning at its regular meeting.
The county gains an additional mechanic from this consolidation, and the county will stagger its mechanical shifts to bring increased service hours to county and Sheriff’s Office employees. Now, vehicle maintenance will be available Saturdays.
The current fleet budget for the Sheriff’s Office for this fiscal year is $324,443. By now, with the fiscal year halfway through, about half of the budget has already been spent, but Flagler County’s Financial Services Department will work with Sheriff’s Office staff to transfer unspent funds from the fleet budget to the county.
An amended Sheriff’s Office budget for the remainder of this fiscal year will come before the County Commission at its next meeting.
Transferred employees will keep current salaries as well as any accrued vacation time. The Sheriff’s Office will pay them 25% of any accrued sick time.
Crime Stoppers
The County Commission approved the allocation of $1,000 in Law Enforcement Trust Funds as a donation to Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida.
Before voting on the matter, Commissioner Barbara Revels asked Sheriff Jim Manfre whether the board could ensure that those funds were used to prevent crimes locally.
“It’s a Volusia-Flagler County joint effort,” Manfre said. “Most of this money comes back to us because essentially what Crime Stoppers does is provide an executive director to accept tips for crime.”
Manfre said the donation is relative to the amount of crime in the area. Flagler County donates $1,000; Volusia County donates significantly more, he said.
The donation was approved by the County Commission unanimously.
Other donations approved
The following are allocations of Law Enforcement Trust Funds approved by the County Commission as crime prevention and juvenile delinquency prevention efforts:
• $1,000 to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
• $5,000 to the Flagler Sheriff’s Police Athletic League
• $1,000 for Calvary Christian Academy
• $500 for the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office GREAT graduation.
