Some citizens are worried that the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office knowingly spent money it didn't have in its budget. One man, Joseph Strasser, went as far as to call it "malfeasance in office." Rutherford responded to these claims at Tuesday's city council meeting, saying the sheriff's office knows that times are tough and that the pain of budget cuts needs to be shared, which is why he says they've done everything they can to cut eunnecessary positions and programs.
"There were 41 police positions cut, 19 civilian positions, and a 2 percent reduction in salary for those appointed employees and officials that I can control their salary...Look I know that 1 out of 10 people out there are unemployed. JSO's gotta do our part, and we are doing that. JSO needs to share in the pain. I agree with the mayor, and I agree with this body that that needs to happen."
Rutherford says he's cut $7.5 million from his budget, and combined with cuts that the mayor and city council have mandated, $16.5 million has been cut from the JSO budget.
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