Elbert County sheriff asks commissioners for about $1.08 million in unfunded requests, cites surge in records and safety needs

Elbert County commissioners on a May 2025 Wednesday reviewed an unfunded budget request from the sheriff’s office that would add roughly $1,075,103.25 in annual costs (about $607,000 for the remainder of 2025), including requests for about 9.5 full‑time equivalent positions and new equipment, the county manager said.

Why it matters: County leaders were told the sheriff’s office is struggling to keep up with a recent surge in workload — most prominently a rapid rise in public records and body‑camera requests and a heavier call volume — and has safety equipment and vehicle shortages the sheriff says contribute to risk for deputies and delayed case work.

The county manager, Sean, opened the presentation with totals and timing, saying the full annual cost in the packet was $963,446.95 and that this year’s prorated impact would be about $607,000 because the calendar year is underway. He noted a modest startup line in that annual figure for initial setup costs per new position. The sheriff described a set of prioritized requests and the operational reasons behind them.

Priority staffing and records backlog The sheriff said the top priority is a records position to address a surge in video and records requests. "Priority 1 would be our records position," he said, and added: "We had over 24,000 requests for the year of 2024," a workload he said one staff member could not handle. He said courts have begun dismissing cases when required video evidence could not be produced in time.

The sheriff explained the office is training another records worker to help the existing video technician and that a separate front‑counter, records and payments role is part of the request. Commissioners asked whether fees for video review and production offset the cost; county staff said current fees…