Oak Grove council presses sheriff's lieutenant on $1.04 million contract as May calls rise

On June 9, the Oak Grove City Council received the sheriff's monthly activity report and spent more than an hour questioning the proposed 2026 contract price for 24-hour deputy coverage, which staff said would total about $1,038,149.

"For the month of May, we had 252 calls for service," Lieutenant Andy of the county sheriff's office told the council as he summarized the department's statistics and recent incidents. He gave a breakdown that included 225 traffic stops, 29 medical calls, 26 animal complaints and arrests that month including three felony arrests, six gross-misdemeanor arrests and three DUI arrests.

Council members pressed for clarity on both the statistics and contract line items. Council Member West asked whether the spike in traffic stops reflected a change in how the sheriff's office counts them: "...it looks like we went up, like, about 400, year to date stops. I'm just wondering if they've changed something on the way they're calculating this." Lieutenant Andy replied, "No. There's no calculation change in these."

The council also questioned several contract-cost line items shown in the draft 2026 proposal for one deputy covering Oak Grove: a 7.3% overall increase from the prior year; a vehicle-related maintenance allowance listed at $35,000; an assumed average of 50,000 miles per year at the IRS mileage rate the contract uses (70 cents per mile); a PSAP/PSDS administrative figure of $11,678; and administrative/clerical support costs shown at $87,868. Council members called those entries out for follow-up and for documentation of what the line items cover.

The lieutenant highlighted notable May incidents for context: a May 10 stop that led to a DWI arrest with a reported blood-alcohol content of 0.117; a May 17 high-risk stop and arrest after an individual exposed himself in a vehicle at Brehm River Meadow Park and then fled; and a string of license-plate and mail theft reports. He also reminded residents that Night to Unite registration information is available on the sheriff's office website for the August 5 event.

Council members discussed options for reducing the city's cost exposure if the contract price remains unchanged, including (1) approaching the contracted provider that currently supplies Oak Grove's deputy, (2) seeking a joint arrangement with another neighboring jurisdiction, (3) exploring creation of a local police department, or (4) accepting the proposed sheriff contract. Council Member West said the council would prefer options that reduce the projected $1 million price tag but acknowledged the sheriff had signaled last year he would not offer fewer hours unless calls for service fell substantially.

After the discussion the council did not vote on the contract. Council members requested follow-up information from staff and the sheriff's office on maintenance and vehicle-cost computations, the composition of the $87,868 administrative number, and comparisons with neighboring cities' contracts. Lieutenant Andy said he would provide clarifications and data where available.

The council and the lieutenant repeatedly emphasized support for local deputies while also asking for more detailed budgetary documentation so members and residents can judge the contract's value.

Ending: Council members said they will reconvene follow-up conversations with the sheriff's office and the city administrator before any final contract approval is scheduled; no formal action on the contract occurred at the June 9 meeting.