With the start of October came the start of the new budget cycle, and Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers took to Facebook on Oct. 1 with a video expressing frustration over his allotted budget.
The sheriff's budget was a pressing matter during the county's budget hearings. Flowers initially requested a $14.6 million increase, which he later revised to $12.2 million.
However, commissioners agreed that granting the request was not feasible. Commission Chair Joseph Flescher suggested tapping into reserves to fund Flowers’ full request at the tentative budget hearing, but the idea was ultimately rejected.
Instead, Flowers was granted $6.9 million, with the opportunity to revisit his budget later in the fiscal year. Flowers' total budget now sits at $87.7 million.
In the video, Flowers accused commissioners of wanting to "defund the police."
"I never thought that in 2025, in the United States of America, in the state of Florida, and especially in Indian River County, we would ever see the 'defund the police' movement come to our hometown," he said.
In a statement provided to WQCS from the county administrator's office, John Titkanich clarified the board's position on the sheriff's budget.
"Since taking office in 2020, the Sheriff has seen his budget grow from $57.82 million to $85.77 million — an increase of nearly $28 million, or 48%. The Sheriff’s Office now accounts for 53.6% of the County’s General Fund and is receiving 72% of all new General Fund revenue this fiscal year. These figures clearly demonstrate the Board’s ongoing commitment to public safety and support for law enforcement while balancing the burden to our taxpayers," the statement read.
Flowers pinned much of the blame on County Administrator John Titkanich in his video. He cited a document prepared by Titkanich that he said outlined the specific cuts being made to the sheriff's office.
"An unelected bureaucrat has told me, the elected sheriff of Indian River County, that mental health for first responders is not important," he said.
Titkanich said the document was not intended to direct the sheriff to make those cuts specifically.
"During the budget workshop, the Sheriff demanded a formal letter from the Board outlining how to reduce his proposed budget. In accordance with his request and Florida Statutes, the County provided such written notice. It is important to note that the County did not direct specific cuts, such as DNA evidence kits, car seats for young children, or food for K-9s. Any reductions being made are at the discretion of the Sheriff, who retains full authority under state law to allocate his budget in a manner that meets the operational needs and priorities of his office as the Sheriff establishes," he wrote.
In addition to cuts to mental health services for deputies, other suggested cuts listed in the document included reduced funding for food for K-9 units, ammunition and other law enforcement equipment.
"God forbid there is some mass casualty event, like we have seen in so many other places across our country just this weekend," Flowers said. "Things that were cut out of our budget were casualty items to care for people if something like that were ever to occur here."
In the statement, the county administrator's office said the suggested cuts were identified based on whether they "appeared to exceed reasonable or contractually supported amounts."
Flowers closed his video by stating that the sheriff's office will continue its funding fight.
"We will not stop here. We are going to do everything legally possible to ensure that the operations of the Indian River County Sheriff are properly funded, and that this money goes where the taxpayers meant for it to go," he said.
The county administrator capped his statement by writing, "The County will continue to work collaboratively with all constitutional officers to serve the residents of Indian River County effectively and efficiently."