Sheriff to buy replacement cruisers

The Santa Rosa County Commission approved amending the sheriff’s budget last week to let him buy replacement patrol cars.

It’s about time, according to Commission Chairman Gordon Goodin.

“They’re passed due. Driving down the road I bet I could pick out the ones that need replaced,”  Goodin joked at the commission’s Aug. 23 meeting. “You’ve got some that look like old cars already.”

Shrinking budgets have kept the sheriff’s office from buying replacement vehicles in the previous two budget years. The commission had budgeted $473,269 in the current budget to operate a new pod at the Santa Rosa County Jail.

For more on this story, check out the Sept. 2 edition of the Navarre Press, or subscribe online.