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Sheriff asks supervisors to fund more deputies, radio upgrades and reentry programs as bookings remain steady
Summary
Sheriff Darin Balaam outlined priorities including additional patrol deputies, improved radios and 911 staffing, completion of reentry/connection centers and funding for correction staffing and overtime as the county addresses population growth and rising calls for service.
Sheriff Darin Balaam told the Board of Supervisors on May 1 that the Yavapai County Sheriff—s Office has cut its vacancy rate dramatically in recent years and is now positioned to add sworn staff and pursue equipment and facility upgrades.
Balaam said the office has reduced vacancies from roughly 150 to about five and credited a county compensation study and follow‑through on pay adjustments that made recruitment and retention feasible. He asked supervisors to fund additional deputies for patrol, three deputy positions and another patrol sergeant in the recommended budget, and to begin a multi‑year upgrade of mobile and handheld digital radios that will improve officer safety and communications in outlying areas.
The sheriff highlighted continuing investments in the county—s justice‑system initiatives: ReachOut reentry programming (which Balaam said reduced average daily jail population and lowered recidivism for participants) and full operation of the Title 36 treatment center and the Verde Connection Center. He said a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDA) federal designation had unlocked new investigative resources and that a state appropriation supports a new special crimes unit focused on drug trafficking and repeat offenders.
Operational asks included increasing jail district overtime funding, adding two 9‑1‑1 operators (the office originally requested four), funding for portable and mobile radio replacement on a multi‑year schedule, and modest increases in patrol staffing. Balaam also urged the board to consider outlying‑area substations and long‑term plans for sheriff headquarters and the sheriff—s 9‑1‑1 center.
Board members and the county manager noted the sheriff—s compromises between requested and recommended items in the manager—s budget; supervisors praised progress on recruitment but pressed officials to plan cost‑effective, lower‑maintenance capital solutions for future substations and to keep public‑safety equipment replacement on a predictable schedule.
