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Sheriff asks board for pay‑step plan, vehicles, technology and a new plane as detention and deputy vacancies remain high
Summary
Sheriff Paul Sheridan told the Board of Supervisors that a stepped pay plan, additional vehicles and technology upgrades are needed to address recruitment and retention and to improve detention safety; his office said it is short roughly 870 detention officers and 120 deputies.
Sheriff Paul Sheridan and department finance staff told the Board of Supervisors that addressing chronic staffing shortfalls requires a combination of compensation, equipment and technology investments.
Sheriff Sheridan opened the department’s FY2026 above‑base presentation by stressing the goal “keeping the public safe” and described the sheriff’s office as operating at roughly 50% of needed staffing in key areas. CFO Jim (surname not provided) presented cost scenarios for a stepped pay‑plan approach the office says is needed to recruit and retain deputies, detention officers and dispatchers.
What was requested: the department presented a menu of compensation options and associated costs rather than a single, fully‑scoped proposal. Cost examples included: - A stepped pay plan for sworn deputies using a median of peer agencies: roughly $15 million (ongoing) under one median model the office presented. - A stepped plan for detention officers would cost roughly $17 million under the presenters’ middle scenario (figures vary depending on whether current critical‑staffing differentials are made permanent and which peer benchmarks are used). - Dispatch stepped‑plan funding was shown at about $0.5 million.
Sheriff staff said the pay‑step plan numbers assume current filled positions; if vacancies are filled the ongoing cost of fully staffed payroll under the plan would increase. CFO staff also presented vacancy counts: roughly 870 detention‑position vacancies and approximately 120 deputy vacancies across the agency.
Other above‑base requests included vehicle and fleet equipment funding (25 vehicles identified in the final tranche of a multi‑year plan and additional equipment for replacements), an expected shortfall in vehicle repair and maintenance (presenters estimated the sheriff’s vehicle repair line could be about $700,000 over budget this year), and an estimated $1.5 million increase from automated escalators on technology and license contracts the department maintains.
Extraditions aircraft and inmate safety pilot: the sheriff’s office sought board approval to pursue purchase of an extraditions aircraft; presenters estimated a suitable Kodiak or similar aircraft could cost about $4.9 million (the board previously placed $3.7 million in contingency for a plane). Sheriff staff described the larger aircraft as increasing operational efficiency and safety for long‑distance prisoner transports.
Separately, the office proposed piloting medical‑monitoring wristbands for new detainees to detect acute medical distress and reduce in‑custody deaths. The office asked to use inmate services funds (revenue from inmate canteen and tablet programs) to underwrite a pilot; presenters said the inmate services fund held about $22 million and was the intended funding source for the pilot.
Board reaction and next steps: supervisors acknowledged the public‑safety stakes and asked the county manager and budget office to model stepped‑plan scenarios, quantify impacts on the county’s expenditure limit, and identify tradeoffs. County Manager Pokorski said a consultant has been engaged to analyze stepped‑plan impacts and the county expects a report with modeling by late February. Chair Galvin and other supervisors emphasized recruitment and retention as priorities and asked the sheriff’s office and county staff to work on costed options.
