County finance panel trims sheriff budget, debates 10% pay request and possible tax increase

At a May 21 Budget and Finance Committee meeting, commissioners approved amended line-item changes to the sheriffs Office budget while debating a sheriff-requested 10% across-the-board pay increase that committee members said would cost about $293,979.

The issue matters because commissioners must balance the countys budget and decide whether to raise property taxes to cover recurring costs for salaries. Committee members said one-time items such as vehicle purchases have been trimmed but that recurring salary increases would require new, ongoing revenue or offsets.

The committee moved multiple sheriffs Office items as amended. Courtroom-security staffing and related overtime were adjusted downward by $25,852 after discussion of part-time-staff hour limits. Patrol staffing was amended to reflect vacancies (three open officer slots were discussed) and a $50,005.59 reduction tied to a recently departed officer. The committee also reduced some equipment lines (law-enforcement supplies and taser/equipment budgets) and moved several other line items to lower amounts after members raised questions about historical spending and grant reimbursements.

Sheriff (name not provided) told the committee the department is short-staffed and that part-time courtroom guards are limited to about 20 hours per week under post regulations, which increases pressure on full-time staff and overtime pools. "I've got all these positions full right now," the sheriff said in reporting current staffing in some units, and later described repeated transports to out-of-county prisons that consume manpower.

At the public microphone a deputy (name not specified) urged the committee to grant the requested pay increases, describing retention problems. "There's not much you can do ... I make $22.69 an hour," the deputy said, adding that nearby counties and local agencies are offering substantially higher starting pay, which has driven departures.

Committee members and budget staff discussed equipment purchases and grants that affect the sheriffs budget. Noted items included: - License-plate reader (LPR) cameras: an initial capital cost reported at about $37,000 with an estimated annual operating/monitoring fee near $5,000 per camera; the sheriff said the prison purchased two units and reimbursed the county for them. - Tasers and lease arrangements: an amended amount was set after the committee learned the department had spent roughly $38,700 on tasers under a lease and did not plan additional immediate purchases. - Body cameras: staff described a lease agreement and an updated system that streams directly to secure storage; the committee settled on a reduced allocation of $30,000 for law-enforcement equipment that includes body-camera costs. - Grants: several purchases and vehicle acquisitions in recent years were funded from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocations rather than the operating budget. The sheriff said a Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) highway pickup grant of about $20,600 per year has been approved and would begin July 1; he said the grant could be applied to a truck purchase.

On personnel costs, committee members and the sheriff discussed two approaches for raises: a percentage increase (the sheriff sought 10%) versus a fixed-dollar supplement for lower-paid employees. Commissioners said the budget cuts already made to one-time capital items could cover some of a pay increase but not the full requested amount. Commissioner Chris Gregory (first reference) told the panel that removing certain one-time vehicle purchases freed about $103,000 in recurring-budget calculations, but that the 10% sheriff request would still require roughly $293,979 in ongoing funds.

Budget staff estimated that the general-fund balance for the fiscal year under consideration would be about $909,000 in the primary operating fund and about $1.8 million when combined with another fund the chair referenced, figures commissioners said were insufficient to cover a recurring raise of the requested size without revenue changes. Multiple commissioners said the county must present a balanced budget and that recurring salary increases typically require new recurring revenue, such as a property-tax increase. One commissioner estimated that roughly four cents in the property-tax rate could be needed to balance the full set of raises and restored services discussed in recent sessions; another said planning around five cents would be prudent as a cushion.

Several formal motions were made and approved by voice vote during the hearing, including amended patrol and courtroom-security budgets, the school-resource-officer lines (which remain largely funded in part by a governor program reported to provide roughly $230,000), the county drug-control fund items, and other sheriff-related administration lines. Committee members requested staff to continue compiling line-by-line totals and to return with final figures for any salary action before the commissions final budget adoption.

The panel also heard department-level detail: part-time courtroom security staff are limited by certification hours; patrol has three vacancies and increased overtime pressures; jail staffing and food-supply budgets were discussed as higher-cost items; drug-seizure proceeds are held in the county drug-control fund and the sheriffs office reported a backlog of seized vehicles awaiting sale; and the prison census and transports to other state facilities were repeatedly cited as an added operational burden.

Committee members said they would continue budget deliberations and look at a combination of spending adjustments, grant applications, and potential revenue changes — including county tax rate options — before making final decisions. The sheriff and several deputies urged the commission to prioritize retention and recruitment in future budget work sessions.

The committee adjourned after the items on the published packet were addressed; commissioners directed staff to prepare updated totals and to return with options for funding recurring salary increases before final budget adoption.