‘We just hired a consultant to study the issue…’

Jake’s jail-em all plan. Joker Jake, the real story not so simple.
You think property taxes are high now, just look at what we’re doing now.

Alachua County’s FY 2025–2026 adopted budget (~$946M total). Key figures from county documents:

• Sheriff’s Office leads at $143M, by far the largest of any constitutional officer, growing ~$11M/year on average.
• Fire Rescue comes in at $96M, more than double its 2022 budget of $41M.
• MSTU Law Enforcement (unincorporated areas) adds another $34M, with the general fund sitting at $323M total.
• Property Appraiser ($9M), Tax Collector ($8M), and Supervisor of Elections ($4M) round out the constitutional officers.
• The Library District budget for FY2026 is about $27M.

The remainder of the general fund covers departments like planning, public works, community services, and administration. Infrastructure/capital spending is a major driver of the overall budget’s recent growth.