Sheriff’s office budget: grant‑funded search‑and‑rescue work and Alpine Ranger program under review

Commissioners reviewed a sheriff’s office budget proposal that shows higher operating costs for 2026 tied to vehicle repairs, dispatch services and several grant‑driven initiatives such as search‑and‑rescue reimbursements and a proposed Alpine Ranger summer program.

Why it matters: The sheriff’s office delivers law enforcement and public safety across large rural areas of the county; higher-than‑expected vehicle repair and overtime costs were discussed as ongoing pressures that contributed to the requested increase.

Key points: The sheriff’s office included a large revenue line item for search‑and‑rescue grant funds (about $44,219) that also carries a corresponding expenditure. Commissioners noted that including grant revenues and their matching expenditures can mask underlying trends in non‑grant operating costs. The proposed Alpine Ranger program (June–October) was budgeted at approximately $67,500 for staffing; commissioners discussed the difficulty of funding that entirely from the general fund and suggested pursuing grant funding to sustain the program.

Board members also raised vehicle repair and fleet replacement timing as contributors to repeated over‑budget lines in recent years. Several deputies’ vehicles are old and costly to maintain; commissioners asked staff to identify potential savings through surplusing cost‑inefficient vehicles and reviewing enterprise vehicle leases and renewal terms.

Directions and next steps: Finance staff will ask the sheriff’s office to show a scenario that limits non‑grant expenditure increases to a modest, historically consistent level (e.g., $200,000 non‑grant increase) plus grant‑funded items, and the board asked the sheriff to pursue grant applications and to report Alpine Ranger outcomes and data to support future grant applications.

The board did not make final adjustments to the sheriff’s budget at this meeting.