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Program participants completed 481 work details throughout Sarasota County in 2013." "I'm optimistic about it," Robinson said of adding the funding into the FY 2015 budget. "I guarantee the recidivism rate is unbeliev- able, so they won't be back doing it again if they can help it," Barbetta noted of the pro- gram participants. Chairman Charles Hines also voiced his sup- port. "I'm very much in favor of this. … When people see these folks out working, it's also a deterrent for others." THE STATS AND THE BUDGET Knight explained that the 3.6-percent increase in his budget from FY 2014 to FY 2015 — from $92,192,345 for the current fiscal year to $95,479,334 for the next fiscal year — resulted mostly from a rise in non-discretionary costs, such as those related to the Florida Retirement System. Only 0.6 percent of the increase, he said, reflects what he called "discretionary but necessary expenses." "We're trying to mirror what you're asking [County Administrator Tom] Harmer and your staff to do" in holding down costs, Knight pointed out. Because of his office's Intelligence-Led Policing philosophy, Knight told the board, he has been able to reduce staff while reduc- ing crime. For the first quarter of the current fiscal year, he said, the crime rate was down 47 percent compared to the same quarter in 2008, before he took office. "That's really unbelievable. That's something I never imag- ined would happen five years ago," he added. As a result of the trend, he said the office has "the ability to be more responsive to quali- ty-of-life issues … whether it's a nuisance on Casey Key or traffic issues on Jackson Road." For example, he noted, Operation Southern Watch in South County, for which the office released results this week, focused on what he called "nuisance people." (See the related item in Crime Briefs.) For another example, he said, the 2013 Operation Booster Buster, which was directed at retail theft, enabled his officers to create "a really good relationship with the retail out- lets, especially on the Interstate 75 corridor. … The goal is to ensure that the people trav- eling from county to county on the interstate system realize and recognize that … Sarasota County is not a good place to stop." "Probably our most frequent complaint is one of your least serious ones," Commissioner Nora Patterson told him. "It's traffic." "Absolutely," Knight responded, pointing out that his office issued 34,415 traffic citations and made 653 DUI arrests in 2013. The latter figure, he added, represents the majority of such arrests in the county. "I want to take this opportunity to thank you and the men and women in your department for … what I call outstanding arrests you're making throughout the county, [which] affect people's quality of life," Commissioner Carolyn Mason told Knight. % Sarasota News Leader June 27, 2014 Page 36