County Commission Approves $740 Million Budget For PBSO

The Palm Beach County Commission signed off on a nearly $5.5 Billion budget this week, which included $740 million for PBSO.

Sheriff Ric Bradshaw says it might sound like a lot, but it funds much more than just his agency.

"We're just not law enforcement. I have to protect the airport, the courthouse, the judges, I have a jail, I've got school crossing guards, the crime lab. You're not just funding a one law enforcement source, there's a multi-faceted amount of money that has to be spent here to operate the sheriff's office."

Some members of the public have been critical of the amount the sheriff asked for. Bradshaw says PBSO is the eighth largest sheriff's office in the nation.

The sheriff also spoke about the third deputy in his agency to die from COVID-19.

"The sad part about it is they all had families and you don't want to lose anybody and it really is like losing a member of your family. It's tough on everybody."

44-year old Angela Chavers passed away last weekend. She started her career with PBSO in 2002 and worked in the Corrections Division.

She is the second worker from that department to die from the coronavirus. The sheriff says strict protocols are in effect at the jail, including all staff wearing masks, temperature checks before entry to the building and social distancing.

"Just because they worked in Corrections and they ended up succombing to this doesn't mean they caught in when they were working in Corrections. They could have got it any place."

Bradshaw says Chavers had been in and out of the hospital and he's told she had health issues that put her at risk for severe complications from the viral infection.

Image: PBSO


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