Sheriff Asks County to Put $596,582 in Leftover Budget Toward Jail Expansion

When the fiscal year closed, the Marion County Sheriff's Office had money left over and returned it to the county. Sheriff Billy Woods is now asking commissioners to direct part of it to a specific use: put $596,582 of it toward expanding the Marion County Jail.

Woods made the request in a Nov. 5, 2026 letter to Commission Chairman Matt McClain, which is now an item on the Board of County Commissioners' Nov. 17 agenda (item 2026-24927). As of Nov. 10 the item was marked "Agenda Ready," and no vote had been taken.

What the letter says

The letter reports the sheriff's unaudited returns for fiscal year 2025-26: $1,188,156 in county-wide funds and $1,184,534 in MSTU funds, after subtracting grant money and the Law Enforcement Trust Fund, for a total of $2,372,690.

"Per my conversations with the County Administrator," Woods wrote, he is requesting "the total general fund balance of $596,582" for the jail capital improvement project. He said his staff has been working with the county's Facilities department on the needs and design of expanding the jail. The agenda item says the same, and lists its budget impact as "None."

A project with a paper trail

County records show the jail work has been in the planning stage for a while. On the commission's Aug. 15, 2023 agenda, county Procurement recommended awarding the Marion County Jail Kitchen and Laundry Expansion Design contract to Architecture Studio, Inc. of Ocala, with a $75,000 expenditure from the infrastructure surtax budget for the first part of the work.

The 2023 item described the goal as providing "adequate support services for a future increase in inmate population" and split the project into three phases: expanding the kitchen and laundry, reconfiguring existing bed space, and designing additional housing units. Only the project definition, data gathering and schematic design portion of the first phase was funded then; the remainder of that first phase was left to be determined, contingent on the board approving the schematic design.

Neither the sheriff's letter nor the 2026 agenda item says which phase the $596,582 would pay for, how large an expansion is planned or what it will cost in all. We did not find a current county page laying out the project's scope or budget, so we are not guessing at either.

What happens Nov. 17

Commissioners can accept the request, change it or decline it when they meet Nov. 17. The jail is at 3290 NW 10th St. in Ocala. Meetings are open to the public; see our November 2026 public meetings calendar for times and how to comment, and our guide to the Marion County commissioners for who sits on the board.

Sources: Marion County Sheriff's Office letter to the Board of County Commissioners, Nov. 5, 2026; Marion County BCC agenda item 2026-24927 (Nov. 17, 2026 meeting); BCC agenda item for the Aug. 15, 2023 meeting (23Q-133). All read Nov. 10, 2026.