Sheriff asks council to consider funding shortfall for domestic-violence detective and hiring for new jail

Sheriff Noah Robinson told the Vanderburgh County Council his department submitted a largely flat budget but faces specific shortfalls that could affect services. The most immediate was a state-backed domestic-violence detective position: “Next year, it'll be roughly $98,000 to keep that position,” Robinson said, describing a complicated formula in which the state covers part of the salary and the county covers the remainder.

Robinson said the state currently provides roughly $64,000 toward the position while the county contributes the balance; he warned the detective’s absence would add roughly 395 active domestic-violence cases to other detectives’ workloads. “That domestic violence detective…is accruing a new case more than a new case every single day,” he said, and noted the position requires specialized training that cannot be easily filled by shifting another deputy into the role.

On the jail expansion, Robinson said the project is on track for early 2027 but will require about 22 additional confinement officers and that training for probationary confinement officers runs six months. He described using part-time special deputies and other measures to manage staffing and suggested the council could phase hires mid-2026 to build capacity ahead of the facility’s opening. The council asked for options including partial funding, transfers from vacant lines and continued lobbying of the state for higher matching funds; no formal appropriation was made at the hearing.