Butler County Sheriff reported a sharp rise in federal boarding revenue tied to contracts to hold ICE and other federal detainees, told commissioners that hiring during the surge produced new FTEs and urged the board to retain positions while the volume lasts.
The sheriff said the county booked roughly 1,700 people under immigration-related detention over the past several months and that about 1,400 of those were ultimately deported; he said the countys jail has held about 100 people on ICE cases at a time during a recent two-day period. The sheriff credited the commissioners decision to increase capacity and to support jail staffing, saying boarding revenue had outperformed original estimates.
At budget preparation the sheriff said the county budgeted $8.5 million in boarding revenue for 2025, then adjusted to $12.5 million for the coming year; based on current trends he said his office may collect $22.5 million in 2025 — a substantial windfall above budget. He asked commissioners not to raise the 2026 estimate now, preferring to treat extra money as a contingency, but he explained the office needs flexibility to staff up and down as federal contracts expand or later contract.
Sheriff described typical turnover and hiring needs in corrections: he said the jail averages about 33 separations per year and can operate with substantial vacancies, but training new correction officers takes months. He told commissioners that of the roughly 19 new FTEs added this year for federal detainee work, four are contractor-funded; net new county FTE exposure is therefore smaller and the department plans attrition-based reductions if federal loads decline.
He said the sheriffs office plans to use federal and homeland-security grants to cover equipment and training costs and thanked commissioners for prior grant support.
Commissioners asked whether the department would ask to reclassify or retain positions after a drop in federal detainees and the sheriff said they would manage by attrition and contract adjustments, describing an operational plan to scale down within months if the federal contracts end. He also said the jail has seen roughly 8% budget increase this cycle mostly payroll-driven.
The sheriff ended by thanking the commissioners for support and noting the uncertain future of federal detention contracts; he asked the board to let revenue overages be treated conservatively as a year-end benefit rather than a baseline increase for 2026.
In follow-up discussion commissioners said they preferred to keep boarding revenue estimates conservative and to evaluate increases midyear if they materialize.