Sheriff outlines FY2026 priorities: staffing, jail technology and reserve-building for vehicles and radios

Deschutes County Sheriff Ken Vanderkam told the budget committee on May 12 that the sheriff’s office is proposing a FY2026 budget that emphasizes staffing stability, technology upgrades in the jail, and the start of a reserve program to smooth future capital purchases for vehicles and radios.

Key points from the sheriff’s presentation - Staffing and recruitment: The sheriff reported recruiting progress and structural rework in hiring and training that have produced larger candidate pools than in prior years. The office is budgeting 271 full-time equivalent positions for its public-safety districts and corrections operations. - Reserve-building for capital items: The sheriff’s office said it will begin seeding a reserve (Fund 256) to phase capital outlays — vehicle replacements, radio infrastructure and public-safety campus planning — over multiple years rather than funding large discrete purchases in a single fiscal year. - Corrections technology and facility needs: Deputies and administration identified an immediate need to replace the jail’s end-of-life “control” computer system that manages movement and door controls. The office has started an RFP; a replacement is budgeted in FY2026 with an estimated cost in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars and will be financed from the sheriff’s capital/operations lines. - Deflection and behavioral-health partnerships: Sheriff Vanderkam said the office has relaunched the deflection program — which routes eligible people with substance-use or mental-health needs away from incarceration and into treatment — and is coordinating with community providers. Early results presented in committee showed several “successful deflections” and ongoing referrals, though staff stressed the program is early in implementation and dependent on partner resources.

Financial context and risks - The sheriff’s FY2026 proposed budget shows a modest increase overall driven largely by personnel costs (PERS, health benefits and step increases). The office said it made targeted reductions in materials-and-services and deferred some capital purchases where feasible. - Rising corrections medical and behavioral-health service costs, an aging facilities envelope and the need to modernize mission-critical technologies (jail controls, records and digital-evidence systems) are persistent fiscal pressures. The sheriff said those needs informed the decision to begin a dedicated reserve for predictable replacements such as radios and vehicles.

Next steps - The sheriff’s office will continue to work with finance on line-item details and present any special requests (including capital technology replacements) during the committee’s FY2026 review week. The budget committee and the Board of County Commissioners will make final adoption decisions in June.

Sources: Presentation by Sheriff Ken Vanderkam and department staff to the Deschutes County Budget Committee, May 12, 2025.