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Sheriff warns computers will be unsupported in October 2025 and hospital transport unit is understaffed
Summary
Sheriff Alfred Montgomery told the Budget & Public Employees Committee that many sheriff's office computers will lose vendor support in October 2025, creating a cybersecurity and operational risk, and that hospital transports and less-lethal equipment are immediate priorities if the FY26 budget is to support current operations.
Sheriff Alfred Montgomery and senior staff told the Board of Aldermen’s budget committee on May 13 that the sheriff’s office faces two pressing operational risks for FY26: aging, soon-to-be-unsupported computers and an understaffed hospital transport unit that is drawing deputies from courtroom and security assignments.
"All Sheriff's computers will be unsupported in October 2025," Montgomery said, noting a vendor quote to replace computers and related support of roughly $259,000. The sheriff said 33 machines already sit out of warranty and that Windows support for other machines will end in November 2025.
Equipment, safety and staffing: Montgomery said the office has fewer than six operational tasers and that Missouri law requires at least one less-lethal option when transporting detainees; he described a short-term option to buy 15–20 used tasers for roughly $30,000 but said a longer-term replacement plan is needed. The sheriff also said he had raised minimum pay for non-clerical deputies to $42,000 to help recruitment and retention and that administrators took pay cuts to fund those raises.
Hospital transport pressures: Chief Deputy Tashana Sias and Chief Deputy Tyshawn Sykes described the "hospital unit," which moves detainees from the Justice Center to hospitals and oversees them while there. Sykes said deputies sometimes must provide one-on-one supervision and that hospitals no longer have dedicated secured wards for detainees; he said the office routinely needs two deputies per hospital detail and that the workload can vary from one detail up to 7–8 simultaneous details in a day. The sheriff told the committee he had requested eight additional deputies specifically to staff hospital details but that those positions were not added in the committee’s current allocations.
Computers, radios and other costs: staff told the committee the most urgent line-item need is phased replacement of desktop and laptop computers and software support. Officials also discussed radio maintenance (Motorola lease) and a revised fleet request intended to move outside-service deputies into city vehicles and geocode work by proximity, replacing an inefficient ZIP-code assignment system.
Concerns, accountability and next steps: Montgomery said the previous administration’s end-of-term payouts and comp-time payments — which he estimated at roughly $250,000 — contributed to the current fiscal strain and that an internal review and state auditor inquiry are ongoing. Committee members pressed for detailed cost estimates and requested documentation on contracts and mission-critical systems; sheriff's staff said a formal, larger quote and an RFP for monitoring technology are in process.
No formal committee action was taken at the hearing; the sheriff asked the Board for support to address IT replacement, replenishing less-lethal equipment and ensuring dedicated hospital transport staffing going into FY26.
