Budget committee approves $57.6 million Enhanced Sheriff's Patrol District budget, sets 0.6365 levy

The Washington County Budget Committee voted unanimously to approve the fiscal year 2025'26 budget for the Enhanced Sheriff's Patrol District (ESPD), adopting a $57,552,109 spending plan and a permanent property tax rate of $0.6365 per $1,000 of assessed value.

The ESPD funds law enforcement in the county's urban unincorporated areas. Sheriff Caprice Massey and Undersheriff John Cook told the committee the district covers densely populated neighborhoods outside city limits and supplements general‑fund policing by underwriting patrols, training and specialized teams.

Sheriff Caprice Massey, Washington County Sheriff, said the ESPD "includes more densely populated areas that lie outside the cities and demand more police services than rural areas," and noted the district has had continuous voter approval since its formation in 1987. She told the committee the current levy was renewed by voters in May 2022 and runs through 2028.

Undersheriff John Cook described the county accounting for ESPD revenue: "When the taxes are collected, they come into the sheriff's office, it comes over to Fund…