BY GARY PINNELL
Highlands Today
Published: August 12, 2011

SEBRING - Sheriff Susan Benton has offered to slice an additional $1 million from her budget, but she'll have to cut six people to do it.

Benton sent a memo Thursday afternoon to county commissioners, detailing the offer.

"We would be forced to reduce programs and staffing in the following areas," Benton wrote. Here are the specifics of her proposal:

• Eliminate the pretrial release program, $51,275.

• Close employee entrance in courthouse, one deputy, one court support officer, $113,405.

• Reduce the school resource program by two deputies and one sergeant, $120,163.

Five of the layoffs would be uniformed officers; the pretrial release official is a civilian.

The program eliminations and staff reductions would total $706,000.

"To reach the remaining request from the board," Benton would return $300,000 in additional funds for compensating absences.

However, Benton said later, "the board could easily fund $284,000 from their reserves for contingency, from their fund balance, and we wouldn't have to cut these positions."

Commissioner Don Elwell wasn't sure if he wanted the layoffs. He scheduled a meeting today with County Administrator Rick Helms and Budget Manager Tim Mechling to determine what will be necessary.

"We need to know where we are sitting with fund balance," Elwell said. "We could balance our budget with less."

The loss of three school resource officers - one from Lake Placid and two from Sebring - "absolutely concerns me," Elwell said.

The student-to-officer ratio is already very high.

The school resource program may be more valuable than the cuts, he said.

The school resource officers at Sebring High School and Sebring Middle School also teach DARE, an anti-drug program, Benton said.

If one officer has to cover both schools, they won't be able to teach.

Also, a layoff would leave one officer at all four Lake Placid schools, Benton said.

The school board already pays half the officer salaries at the Sebring and Lake Placid campuses, Benton said. Avon Park schools are guarded by the police department.

Given a choice between guarding the schools and the courthouse or solving crimes and patrolling, Benton chose law enforcement duties.

"That's our primary function," she said. "It's unfortunate, but the others are luxuries. Are they needed? Of course. Are they in the best interest of the communities? Of course."

"God bless her," Commissioner Jack Richie said, "but I'm not thrilled with the layoffs, and I think we'll have to look at the whole thing."

He was concerned about losing three school resource officers for another reason - the recent flash-mob incidents in Philadelphia and London, where youths with cell phones and Twitter quickly assembled and caused problems.

"I want to compliment her for really working hard to make things happen correctly," Richie said. "She protects a very large area and we have asked her to improve, and that costs money.

"Now we have to ask how much of that we want to keep, and how much we can afford to keep. It takes manpower and a tremendous amount of money to handle that."

gpinnell@highlandstoday.com, 386-5828