DELAND, Fla. — Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood proclaimed the county's council "Scumbags of the Week" in a series of sharp and critical tweets posted Tuesday night, and continued his attacks on Wednesday by calling for the resignation of the council's chairman.

  • Sheriff Mike Chitwood, commission at odds over Amendment 10
  • Council voted to move forward with lawsuit to challenge Amendment 10
  • Chitwood says amendment gives him control of Sheriff's Office budget
  • Amendment could be costing taxpayers millions, says council

The Volusia County Council is drawing the sheriff's ire after voting 6 to 1 Tuesday to move forward with a lawsuit challenging Amendment 10. Councilwoman Heather Post was the lone holdout vote.   

County Attorney Dan Eckert presented the motion to the council and questioned whether the amendment could ultimately cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

On Wednesday, Chitwood called the Volusia County Council a bunch of "sneak thieves," and knuckleheads, and demanded a change in leadership.

“I demand that Ed Kelley resign from officer for his lack of leadership and for being a puppet,” Chitwood said.

The measure was approved by 63 percent of statewide voters in November, including 53 percent of voters in Volusia County.  

The bundled-amendment strips certain authorities from counties and requires elections for positions of sheriffs, property appraisers, supervisors of elections, tax collectors, and clerks of court in all counties.

Making the above positions constitutional positions would also give those agency heads more oversight of their budget and operations. Since taking office as sheriff in 2017, Chitwood has criticized the county's oversight of his budget.

Council members filed suit prior to November elections in an effort to get Amendment 10 tossed from the ballot, but the case was squashed by the Florida Supreme Court.

The County has argued in the past that the new amendment will cost taxpayers more money. It will also require the county's tax collector to be moved from a county employee position to an elected position.

Chitwood has long fought in support of the measure.

Tuesday's Council vote to move forward with a lawsuit challenging the amendment drew quick criticism from the sheriff.

Post explained why she was the lone member of the council opposed to moving forward with the lawsuit.

"I don't agree with us moving forward. I think the majority of voters approved it. I just think the county's money and energies would be better spent having, I think if we're going to have voters decide on anything, decide if the county's charter is in line with 2020 Volusia," she said.

Councilman Pat Patterson said the bundling of the amendment makes true voter intent unclear.

"We don't know if people were voting for Office of Veterans Affairs, which we have a statute, the way they bundled this, we don't know why people were voting for it, and I think this is something we need to go ahead and address," Patterson said.

Chitwood promises he and the Florida Sheriff's Association will challenge the county's lawsuit.

Reporters Greg Angel and Erin Murray contributed to this report.