The Miami-Dade sheriff, Rosie Cordero-Stutz, announced that she will be terminating the Sergeant-at-Arms program, the service of plainclothes officers that provides security and transportation for Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and the 13 county commissioners, in a new episode of the institutional dispute between the two officials.
According to a report from NBC Miami, Cordero-Stutz notified the decision via letter, arguing that the program costs taxpayers about $4.1 million annually and that its elimination will help cover the deficit that, according to her, was created by the budget approved by the county for the fiscal year 2026-2027.
Hours later, Levine Cava responded with her own letter, describing the measure as a "significant security challenge" and citing the assaults against elected officials in Minnesota—where in June 2025, a man killed a state legislator and shot at a senator—as a reason to maintain the protection.
The mayor also questioned the argument regarding the deficit: the county approved a budget of $1.23 billion for the Sheriff's Office this year, the largest in Miami-Dade's history, and demanded a detailed transition plan from Cordero-Stutz before the program concludes next month.
The backdrop is a budgetary dispute that has been ongoing since September. The sheriff requested an additional $42 million beyond what the mayor recommended for her office; the commissioners denied that request, although they approved a last-minute increase of about $11.5 million from the county's surplus.
Cordero-Stutz clarified that police coverage at the meetings of the Board of Commissioners will continue; what is being eliminated is the service of plainclothes agents with black police SUVs for the transportation and individual protection of the officials.
The announcement comes just two days after the Sheriff's Office was at the center of another controversy: the purchase of 1,000 cowboy hats at $132 each —totaling $132,000—, an expense that drew criticism from residents amid a budget dispute.
Amendment 3, another point of friction
One day before sending the letter regarding the Sergeant-at-Arms, Cordero-Stutz participated in a meeting with Governor Ron DeSantis to promote Amendment 3, the property tax reduction proposal, where he argued that public spending should never go unchallenged, and added that he takes his responsibility to spend the community's money "prudently" very seriously.
The sheriff stated a few days ago that tax reduction and public safety are not incompatible, and urged agencies to review their spending and eliminate unnecessary costs.
On the opposing side, the mayor warned that the measure threatens public safety and emergency response, and anticipates that the county could lose up to 19 fire stations and more than 600 firefighters.
This is not the first time that both officials have clashed in public. In September, the crash of an Amazon Air plane at Miami International Airport —which resulted in five Cuban casualties— led to a tense live exchange about who should speak first to the media, followed by a series of letters exchanged between them.
Cordero-Stutz, a Republican, took office in January 2025 as the first elected sheriff of Miami-Dade in nearly 60 years; Levine Cava, a Democrat, openly supported her rival in the 2024 elections.
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