Commissioners pause sheriff's budget amid jail staffing and compliance concerns; legal review ordered

Sheriff Richard Hickox presented the sheriff's budget request on Feb. 18, describing staffing and equipment needs the department says are required to maintain public safety and meet evolving local demands. Hickox said patrol staffing is essentially the same "as far as patrolmen that we ran when I started at the sheriff's office in 1999," while the county's population and built environment have grown.

Hickox asked commissioners to approve funding for three replacement patrol vehicles, modest pay adjustments for captains whose pay had fallen below subordinates, increases in supplies and jail repairs and money to reestablish a reserve unit. He described on-the-ground pressures in the jail, citing the labor involved with detainees who have complex mental-health needs and noting increased costs to feed, medicate and observe inmates.

During the hearing, commissioners and counsel raised a concern about whether some statutory jail checks and observation levels were being met at all times. County counsel Jill (last name not specified in the transcript) said she would conduct a thorough evaluation of the sheriff's detention procedures and any potential liability. District Attorney Arthur Mallory and other legal staff indicated they would also review the question. The board agreed to set the sheriff's budget aside rather than act on it at the tentative-budget stage until legal findings are available.

What the sheriff asked for: - Three patrol vehicle replacements to cycle out decade-old equipment; Sheriff Hickox said lead-time to order and outfit vehicles is roughly a year. - Funding to re-start the reserve unit and for equipment repair and jail extraordinary maintenance; Hickox said repairs are higher because mental-health detainees sometimes damage fixtures and equipment. - A request to true-up captains' compensation because "one of my captains is making less than the people he supervises." He also sought increases in contracted lab testing, noting some forensic tests are now sent out of state when a regional lab stops performing certain analyses.

Board action: County counsel and the district attorney will perform a legal review of detention compliance and liability and report back at a litigation meeting prior to April 15. Commissioners directed that the sheriff's budget be left unapproved for now and reconsidered after the legal review; no formal vote was recorded on the sheriff's requested increases.

Ending: The sheriff reiterated the need for critical equipment and staffing to maintain public safety; the board delayed final budget action pending the legal review and a status report to the commission.