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Sheriff asks for more deputies, identifies jail vacancies and overtime pressure
Summary
Sheriff's office outlined a request to restore patrol staffing with 24 additional deputies, reported 17 jail vacancies and significant overtime needs (jail overtime ~ $340,000), and asked commissioners to consider recruitment advertising and phased hiring to reduce overtime and improve coverage.
Sheriff's command staff presented the commission with staffing and operational needs for patrol and the jail, saying county patrol covers a large rural area and jail operations face persistent vacancies and overtime costs.
The sheriff's deputy leading the presentation reported that the patrol section has 24 officers across three shifts and asked the court to consider adding 24 deputies and additional vehicles to restore coverage across the county. "Control right now has a total of 23 officers," the captain said during the briefing, then explained shift rotations leave typically three officers on patrol during a given shift and that adding deputies would meaningfully increase coverage.
On the jail side, the sheriff reported 17 vacancies and said overtime remains a major driver of the jail budget. "We have 17 vacancies," the sheriff said, adding that the jail requested approximately $340,000 in overtime funding. Staff also requested reclassification of an ID clerk into a senior role to support Odyssey data conversion and CJIS compliance.
Commissioners questioned whether the office should phase hires rather than add 24 deputies at once, and suggested investment in recruitment advertising after the sheriff reported prior advertising campaigns produced strong candidate interest. The sheriff said hiring and retention remain challenges despite prior successful recruitment efforts and that collective bargaining sets certain pay steps.
Sheriff's staff reminded the court that jail recertification by state jail standards remains in process and that reinspection paperwork was under review; the sheriff said the county had lost federal prisoner revenue while the jail did not meet inspection standards and that staff are working to provide required documentation.
No vote was taken; commissioners directed staff to include the sheriff's requests in budget work and explore phased approaches, recruitment spending, and operational details including vehicle and overtime estimates.
