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Sheriff’s office says overtime remains a pressure point; commissioners ask for reconciliation before restoring cuts
Summary
Sheriff’s representatives described one-time offsets and remaining overtime pressure while commissioners asked for a formal reconciliation of cuts and offsets before restoring positions or vehicles removed to meet prior targets.
Representatives from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office briefed commissioners during the March 14 budget work session about how they had reduced costs to fit earlier budget directions and what remained unresolved.
The sheriff’s team said they had used a combination of turnover savings, removal of nonrecurring vehicle and equipment items, and other reductions to approach the board’s $1.3 million target for the department. They identified overtime as a remaining gap the department could not fully offset through cuts; staff said the department could fund overtime if merit increases and step allocations were not included, but with those personnel changes the overtime need remained.
Sheriff’s staff described a vehicle replacement need and noted that some stated replacement schedules (for example, 70 vehicles per policy) differ from specific replacement lists presented by the department; they also said one grant-funded vehicle was expected to pay for itself. Sheriff’s staff told the board they were preparing a reconciliation that would show how the department planned to make reductions and what items might be restored if county funds are available.
Commissioners said they wanted the sheriff’s reconciliation before finalizing how much of the prior reductions to reverse. The county finance office and sheriff’s representatives agreed to complete the reconciliation for the next work session so commissioners could make a final determination.
