Bourbon County budget committee hears sheriff outline staffing, dispatch, EMS and fleet costs; city offers $350,000 to ease dispatch transition

Bourbon County officials on Tuesday reviewed detailed public safety budget pressures as Sheriff Martin and staff described higher personnel costs, potential savings from a new local emergency room, and the costs of absorbing dispatch operations from the City of Fort Scott.

The discussion focused on three near-term budget drivers: personnel and overtime in the sheriff’s office and corrections; the county potentially taking over dispatch (the city offered $350,000 for 2026–27 as a transition payment); and a multi‑year fleet replacement plan (an enterprise leasing program) to reduce high repair and maintenance costs.

Why it matters: Public safety accounts for a large share of the sheriff’s proposed increases. Committee members said they want to preserve services while seeking alternatives to drawing further on reserves and the soon‑to‑sunset jail sales tax.

Sheriff Martin summarized the department’s budget shift, saying the county absorbed personnel costs previously provided under contract and that the sheriff’s office now faces higher salary and contractual expenses. He asked the committee to consider returning some inmate‑housing revenue to the sheriff’s operating fund rather than allowing it to be moved to general uses. The sheriff’s office already collects fees for housing inmates from other jurisdictions; the sheriff asked that those fees be shown as a line item…