October 09, 2026 - Det. Joseph R. Peguero Rivera - [email protected] - (305) 471-1900.
Sheriff Reaffirms $42 Million Funding Shortfall and Will Appeal Adopted Budget
The County’s October 7 letter provides no additional funding to address the previously identified shortfall.
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office is correcting the misleading impression created by the Mayor’s October 7 written notice that the Sheriff’s requested public-safety needs have been fully funded. Presenting broader budget totals does not eliminate the approximately $42 million shortfall previously explained to the public. The notice provides no additional funding to hire and train needed deputies or address the other previously identified needs. Public safety must not be manipulated through confusing budget comparisons. Our community deserves a transparent accounting of what was requested, what was approved, and what remains unfunded.
The Sheriff’s position remains unchanged from the Office’s September 25 statement. The Sheriff requested approximately $108 million in additional funding over the previous year. The County initially provided approximately $55 million of that increase and added approximately $11 million at the final budget hearing, providing approximately $66 million and leaving approximately $42 million unfunded.
The County’s October 7 written notice does not announce any additional appropriation beyond what was adopted at the September 17 final budget hearing. The funding decision has not changed, and neither have the needs identified by the Sheriff.
“Approximately $42 million of our requested increase remains unfunded,” said Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz. “The County’s October 7 letter does not change the amount approved at the final budget hearing.”
Vacant Positions Reflect Lack of Space Needed to Hire and Train Employees
During budget hearings, the County pointed to vacant positions and unspent salary funds in discussing the Sheriff’s budget. As explained in the Office’s earlier statement, those positions were not filled as planned because the County did not provide the space needed to hire, train, and place additional employees. Without that space, positions remained vacant and money set aside for their salaries went unspent. Citing those vacancies without explaining the space shortage gives the public an incomplete picture of why positions went unfilled and funds went unspent.
The Sheriff’s Office previously identified 172 vacant civilian positions. Filling them gradually throughout the year would cost $7.2 million, which the adopted budget does not provide. These employees include people who answer 911 calls, dispatch deputies, maintain technology, and support investigations.
Most of the Requested Increase Pays for Inherited Obligations
Labor agreements reached before Sheriff Cordero-Stutz took office, along with County-approved pension and health insurance costs, account for $62.5 million of the requested increase. The Sheriff must pay those existing obligations. They are not new programs or hiring she chose to add.
County officials have described the request as a 12 percent increase. But more than half of that increase pays for obligations put in place before the Sheriff took office. Once those obligations are set aside, the increase requested for the Office’s other needs is approximately 5 percent.
The Sheriff’s Office has identified additional funding options, including the previously announced $20 million commitment from the Tax Collector for deputy payroll and overtime, subject to the necessary approvals and appropriation.
Funding Shortfall Could Affect Deputy Hiring and Academy Classes
The Sheriff’s Office previously outlined the projected consequences of insufficient funding. After accounting for existing obligations, those projections include:
• Cancellation of 6.5 academy classes;
• Loss of 289 civilian positions; and
• Approximately 180 fewer deputies by the end of the fiscal year.
That projected reduction in deputies is separate from the 172 civilian positions previously identified as vacant. The funding concerns also extend to overtime coverage, safety equipment, technology, and other essential operational needs.
A written notice presenting different budget totals does not supply the funding needed to carry out these hiring and training plans or meet these operational demands.
Sheriff Will Appeal the Adopted Budget
The Sheriff will appeal the adopted budget to the Administration Commission to seek the funding needed to meet the Office’s obligations and public-safety needs.
As part of that appeal, the Sheriff will identify available funding options and savings that can address the shortfall without raising taxes or cutting essential County programs.
“My responsibility is to protect the people of Miami-Dade County,” said Sheriff Cordero-Stutz. “I will appeal the adopted budget to seek the funding needed for essential personnel, equipment, and public-safety operations.”
About the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office provides countywide law-enforcement services to approximately 2.8 million residents across more than 2,000 square miles. Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz took office in January 2025 as the County’s first elected Sheriff in close to 60 years.
Who: Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office (MDSO)
What: Sheriff Reaffirms $42 Million Funding Shortfall and Will Appeal Adopted Budget
When: October 09, 2026 — 09:00 a.m.
Where: Countywide
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Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office
Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office
Fred Taylor Headquarters - 9105 NW 25th Street, Doral, FL 33172
