Alleghany County trims sheriff's budget; commissioners discuss vehicle purchases and overtime reductions

Alleghany County commissioners discussed proposed reductions to the sheriff's budget during the work session and asked the sheriff to meet with the board to explain options for covering staffing, overtime and vehicle needs.

County staff said the sheriff's office asked for four vehicles this budget cycle and the board funded three; staff also noted adjustments in computer equipment costs tied to vehicle installations. A staff summary presented a year-over-year reduction of roughly $43,000 in the sheriff's budget, though one commissioner referenced a $49,744 cut figure while questioning the effect on operations.

Board members emphasized they had tried to preserve funding for schools and the sheriff's department while looking across all department budgets for savings. The county manager said the board had discussed the need to find savings without creating a domino effect that would significantly impair smaller departments: "We need to get that much money out of your budget. We don't care what line item it's gonna come from," staff said, urging departments to propose where cuts could be made.

Sheriff Shane Glenn was scheduled to meet the board at a subsequent meeting to discuss how to manage reduced overtime and part-time lines and whether vehicle plans or other line items could be adjusted. Commissioners also discussed turnover and natural savings from vacancies as partial mitigations.

The board did not adopt any final changes to equipment purchases or staffing lines at the session; it directed the sheriff to confer with the board on Thursday and return options for meeting the required savings targets without undermining public safety operations.