Brooksville weighs contract for enhanced sheriff services as costs rise

Brooksville’s proposed sheriff contract is climbing to $1,224,013 in the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office’s FY2025-2026 budget, a jump from $1,110,216 in the approved FY2024-2025 plan and $1,057,349 the year before. That price increase put a sharp question in front of the Brooksville City Council: whether residents are buying a measurable boost in day-to-day policing or just paying more for broad assurances.

The city already depends on the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office for law-enforcement services, and the sheriff’s budget books treat Brooksville as a recurring contract customer, not a one-time client. That makes the current debate less about whether the county will police Brooksville and more about what extra coverage the city wants, where it wants it, and how much city leaders are willing to ask taxpayers to absorb.

In practice, an enhanced service contract would be expected to show up in ways residents can actually notice: more visible patrols, stronger traffic enforcement, quicker response to problem areas, and more focused coverage around downtown corridors, parks and special events. Sheriff Al Nienhuis has been at the center of that conversation, explaining what the county can realistically deliver if Brooksville chooses to pay for more than the baseline level of coverage it already receives.

The fiscal history shows the arrangement has been steadily getting more expensive. HCSO budget documents list the City of Brooksville contract at $1,057,349 in FY2023-2024, then $1,110,216 in FY2024-2025, with the proposed FY2025-2026 figure at $1,224,013. That steady rise has made the contract a regular budget pressure point, especially as city leaders weigh it against other spending priorities.

Brooksville has been here before. In 2018, the city voted to disband its police department and contract with the sheriff’s office for law enforcement services. The transition began June 1, 2018 and brought nine deputies, all former Brooksville police officers, into the sheriff-led model. At the time, the move was framed as a cost-cutting decision, while one council dissent warned it could mean less coverage.

The city has kept renegotiating the deal since then. On Sept. 2, 2025, Brooksville approved an amended HCSO contract that was projected to save the city $299,000 in 2026 by reducing two deputies. That revision also required HCSO to cover gaps when city-dedicated deputies were unavailable because of illness, injury, training, vacation or other calls.

The contract has remained under review into 2026, with Councilwoman Betty Erhard and Councilman Louis Hallal tied to a push to revisit it and the council later pausing an effort to end the agreement for city attorney review. For Brooksville, the decision now comes down to whether the next increase buys more concrete policing or just a larger bill.