Adams County sheriff discusses K-9 fund accounting after large donation; committee hears about deployments and drug seizures

The Adams County Safety and Judiciary Committee on April 9 heard a detailed discussion about funding and accounting for the county sheriff’s K-9 program after an estate donation and subsequent budget changes.

The most immediate financial detail came from Kyle, the county administrator, who said the K-9 fund balance is “about a hundred and $72,000 currently.” The sheriff’s office explained that in late January it received “just over $93,000” from an estate that was designated for the K-9 program.

The fiscal conversation centered on whether donated money may be used to cover portions of K-9 officer wages and related training. The sheriff’s office said the negative line items that appear on recent finance reports reflect that those detailed expense codes for the canine program were not included in the budget document passed earlier this year. “None of those line items were in the budget that the county board passed,” the sheriff said, and the reported negatives appear because the carryover accounts were broken out in more detail after that budget approval.

County finance and administration staff explained that generally accepted accounting principles for governmental finance require program expenses to be matched to the program’s funding when donations are restricted. “When you have restrictive donation[s]…you have to account for those donations because people want to know what are you using our donations for,” a county official told the committee. The administrator added that some wage-related expenses charged to the K-9 program reflect overtime and training “that they wouldn’t have to do if they didn’t have the canine dog.”

Committee members pressed on the distinction between training or wages charged to the restricted donation account and training paid from general budget lines. One member framed the concern bluntly: “Why does the canine training have to be different than it would be? They’re still deputies.” The sheriff’s office and the county administrator recommended taking any broader changes to how K-9 expenses are budgeted up in the formal budget process.

The sheriff also reported operational results tied to the K-9 teams. He noted two recent traffic stops in which K-9 teams helped investigators seize more than 150 grams of methamphetamine across two arrests in the prior week. On evidence disposition, the sheriff said seized drugs are ultimately destroyed after the court process; cash or vehicle forfeitures that result from prosecutions are handled per statute and, in some cases, portions are directed to school funds.

Committee members asked about deployment tracking and outcomes. The sheriff said detailed per-deployment records are kept in separate tracking software and will be summarized in the office’s annual report next month. The sheriff’s office also noted it will increasingly present canine-related accounting detail in next year’s budget so the committee and public can see program-level revenues and expenses.

Operational updates included the hiring of Lieutenant Eric Diven to a newly filled investigative lieutenant position and recognition that the sheriff’s office received gold-level recognition from Lexipol for both jail and law enforcement policy management. The sheriff’s office also announced an ATV/UTV safety course to be taught by deputies in May and reminded the committee that the annual jail inspection walkthrough will follow the May meeting.

On animal-control costs, committee members raised concerns about the county’s contract with the local humane society and per-animal costs. The sheriff said the average 2024 cost per dog was near $250 based on prior year figures and acknowledged the contract and shelter costs are a continuing topic for administrators.

The committee did not take a formal vote on changes to K-9 accounting at the meeting but members were directed to the budget process to address any policy-level changes.