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Commissioners tentatively set aside $600,000 for sheriff’s ECCs, ask sheriff to firm up allocations
Summary
In a wide-ranging discussion of the sheriff's ECC package, commissioners signaled support for a recurring $600,000 allocation to the Sheriff's Office to cover staffing ranks, new deputies tied to an upcoming 'drop' of retirements, station clerks and equipment; the sheriff agreed to return with detailed numbers.
Sheriff Tim Cameron and his staff presented a package of essential cost-change requests (ECCs) that included sworn positions to address an anticipated retirement "drop," rank promotions, station clerks for new district offices, and equipment and vehicle needs. Commissioners signaled support for a recurring allocation of $600,000 and asked the sheriff’s office to refine and return with detailed cost estimates.
The sheriff explained that seven sworn positions were forecasted to retire in April 2022; the office proposed hiring replacements earlier so new hires could be trained and ready at the time of the retirements. The proposed approach would require filling positions in advance (creating what staff described as overlapping hires during training) to avoid service gaps. The sheriff described the seven hires as replacements tied to forecasted attrition rather than net new permanent FTE growth, and he also requested additional ranked positions (one lieutenant and three sergeants) to strengthen supervision and specialized services.
Commissioners discussed station staffing needs for two new district stations (one opening immediately in mid-March and others later), the potential role of station clerks to assist the public with report copies and records, and the role of grants (for example, a COPS grant that could offset some deputy costs for three years) in the near term. The board asked the sheriff’s office to consider which items are recurring operating costs and which could be financed as nonrecurring capital or vehicle purchases.
Several commissioners emphasized the importance of flexibility and acknowledged prior reductions in the sheriff's budget; they asked the sheriff to identify nonrecurring purchases and potential salary-savings offsets. Sheriff Cameron agreed to return with a refined proposal for the commissioners’ scheduled review on March 10 or 17, 2020.
Commissioners also agreed separately earlier in the session to the new sworn law-enforcement pay schedule (see related article), which staff said will be reflected in multi-year cost projections affecting the sheriff’s ECC requests.
