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Sheriff converted 24 contracted courthouse security positions to deputy roles; budget shows $2 million for staffing
Summary
At the April 18 hearing the sheriff said the office absorbed courthouse security previously provided by a contractor, converting 24 contracted staff into uniformed deputies and seeking budget support for ongoing supervision. Officials said most of the requested 31 FTEs represent converted contractors rather than net new positions.
At the April 18 Budget & Finance meeting Sheriff Hall told council the sheriff’s office has taken over security for the courthouse this fiscal year by converting contracted security staff to sheriff’s office employees and asked the council to fund the office’s supervision and operating costs going forward.
Hall said the office converted 24 contracted employees into uniformed deputies and requested funding for an overall 31 FTEs to supervise courthouse operations; he described 24 of those as staff already being paid via contract and not entirely new FTEs. “We took over 24 contracted employees and flipped them to our uniforms,” he said. The sheriff’s budget book showed about $2,000,000 budgeted for uniformed officer staffing for the historic courthouse and a separate line (about $1,400,000) for the security services contract renewal; the sheriff said the latter reflects a contract rate increase that the finance office and his team reconciled while finalizing the budget.
Sheriff Hall and council members discussed offsets: he said money was reduced from the contract line where the contractor coverage was no longer needed, and he offered to provide exact shift and per‑shift staffing numbers to council members who requested them. Council members asked how many people per shift and how the conversion affected overtime and contract savings; Hall said he would provide the staff and offset figures.
Why it matters: converting contracted security workers into county employees shifts payroll, benefits and supervision responsibilities to the sheriff’s office and affects the sheriff’s personnel budget, the standing Allied Security contract and the Metro payroll and benefits obligations. Council members asked for a homework item: a costed analysis of how many FTEs would be needed to end remaining security contracts entirely and the cost implications of converting additional contract security (for example, school resource officers and other posts) to deputies.
