The Alachua County Commission decided Tuesday to hire consultants to defend it when the Alachua County Sheriff Office’s roughly $500,000 budget cut appeal goes to Tallahassee.
The commission isn’t sure when the appeal will go to court, but County Attorney Dave Wagner cautioned that it could be soon and without much warning.
County Manager Randall Reid said it would be a good idea for a few commissioners to go to Tallahassee, even if it’s just for show.
Commissioner Mike Byerly said he didn’t understand why commissioners would need to go to Tallahassee when their staff are handling the case.
Wagner said that while county staff could handle the lawsuit, it helps to have figureheads in a highly political setting.
“I don’t expect it to be rational, to be honest with you,” Wagner replied. “We’re hesitant to go up there without one of you present to at least give the impression that elected officials care about this issue.”
The commission also decided to meet with a prison company, Corrections Corporation of America, to hear as many options as possible before the commission decides how to run the jail for the next decade.
Most of the Commission thought the sheriff should stay in charge of the jail but that the commission would take control as a second choice.
A last resort would be handing over the jail to a private company, an option none of the commissioners liked.
