As budgets boomed, some perks ballooned Sheriff defends spending, but review reveals a few luxuries.

Byline: DOUG SWORD doug.sword@heraldtribune.com

The price tag, according to the one-year lease agreement: $1,366 a month, an amount that likely exceeds many of his officers' mortgage payments.

Balkwill told the Herald-Tribune he returned the vehicle -- his fourth in six months -- for a cheaper one immediately after learning how much it cost.

His new GMC Yukon cost less than half as much per month, but still came with Bose luxury speakers, a navigation system and a rearview camera to make backing up easier.

When it comes to public money, the sheriff's office is unique among local government agencies in Florida. Under state law, it is exempt from the level of outside scrutiny commonplace in other agencies, leaving the sheriff as the ultimate arbiter of whether an expense is justified.

But scrutiny is just what taxpayers, state lawmakers and citizens groups have called for in the wake of a five-year real estate boom that kept government coffers overflowing.

For the first time in years, the combination of the real estate bust and a state-mandated tax reduction has forced local governments to cut back, triggering a renewed focus on responsible spending.

The vehicles are a tiny fraction of the sheriff's $88 million annual budget, but they are among the questionable expenses the Herald-Tribune found in a review of spending during the real estate boom.

The newspaper focused on places where auditors might find abuse: government-issued credit cards, expense reports, the payroll and take-home vehicles. Though not as complete as an audit by accounting professionals, the newspaper review was more detailed than any by an outside organization in recent memory, Balkwill said.

Records obtained from the Sarasota Sheriff's Office gave no indication of widespread abuse, but the Herald-Tribune did find:

* Balkwill and members of his command stayed at hotels for as much as $260 per night, even with…