Indian River County Sheriff Seeks $1 Million For Payroll

VERO BEACH – Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar says he needs $1 million to help cover his next payroll after Hurricane Irma.

Loar’s annual budget is about $50 million but says he put his entire workforce on “alpha” status before and during Hurricane Irma which resulted in overtime wages.

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Loar said he plans to replay the funds using reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

While the Indian River County Sheriff asked for $1 million, the Board of Commissioners had other calculations.

Commissioner Bob Solari did some of his numbers and told Loar that an amount of $250,000 was plenty of money to cover his payroll. Commissioner Tim Zorc calculated $200,000.

Even so, Loar argued that it wasn’t enough, and kept pressing the Board. The commissioners finally voted 4-1 to give him $500,000 to pay his Indian River County staff.