Broadwater County sheriff outlines plan to continue five‑year mill levy, details staffing and jail costs

Sheriff Nick Grauser of Broadwater County outlined plans to continue the county's five-year mill levy and described how the revenue pays for dispatch, deputies, detention operations and other law-enforcement expenses during a public meeting and video presentation.

Grauser said the levy was approved five years earlier and described the current proposal as a continuation rather than an increase. "This mill levy was voted in 5 years ago, and the biggest thing I want to emphasize is essentially just a continuation of the mill levy 5 years ago. There's no more mills, so I'm not gonna ask for any more mills," Grauser said. He said the office intends to mill about 31.95 mills next year, down roughly 20 percent from a recent level and below the statutory cap he cited of 39.93 mills.

The meeting was intended to show residents what the sheriff's office does daily and why Grauser and staff say the levy is needed. Grauser walked through the office's four operational divisions—dispatch (the dispatch control room), deputies, the detention center, and the coroner function—and played a 35-minute video containing incident footage to illustrate typical calls for service.

Why it matters: Grauser said personnel…