The Benton County board on a routine vote approved a resolution authorizing the sheriff to appoint several command positions, promote two sergeants through civil service and create a new mental-health liaison role.

The action, carried by recorded "ayes," gives the sheriff authority to appoint Josh Karsten as chief deputy and to assign Kyle Lynch to a patrol-division captain role, to fill a new jail administrator/second deputy position and to add two sergeant promotable positions that will be handled under civil service rules. The sheriff also described plans to create a mental-health liaison post to replace funding lost after redistricting.

The resolution matters because it reshapes the department’s command structure ahead of a hiring round the sheriff’s office expects to finish in early 2025. That hiring, the sheriff said, is already underway and the office has received 21 applications for full‑time positions, several of them certified officers who could be available sooner than recruits who must attend the academy.

The sheriff told the board he wants the command positions — including two sergeants and a patrol supervisor — in place before adding additional deputies so the department has an established command-and-control structure. “We need somebody back in the jail, I feel. We need a jail administrator that’s back there,” the sheriff said, explaining operational difficulties when supervisors are not physically present in the jail.

The sheriff described the timetable for hiring: applications close in early January, testing in mid‑January and interviews in early February, with academy and on‑the‑job training extending months beyond hiring for uncertified recruits. He said about four to six vacancies could be filled depending on budget and certification levels among applicants, and noted the civil‑service promotion eligibility was changed from five years to two years to speed internal advancement.

Board members raised budget and timing questions during the discussion; the sheriff said the sergeants’ promotion would not raise their pay immediately, though upcoming contract negotiations could add roughly $1–$2 per hour (which he estimated as roughly $2,000–$3,000 annually per position). The sheriff also said the department plans to review school resource officer assignments as budget and staffing permit.

The board recorded affirmative votes for the resolution; the sheriff and staff will proceed with implementing appointments and filling vacancies through the civil‑service process.

The board did not set an effective date for the new positions beyond internal hiring timelines, and the sheriff said specific deputy hires will depend on background checks and civil‑service results.