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Washtenaw commissioners approve budget with central reserve after debate over sheriff's jail food, medical shortfall
Summary
After hours of questioning about overtime, attrition and jail conditions, the board approved the county's 2026'1029 budget and a revised quarter-three adjustment. Members voted to hold future jail food/medical funding in a central reserve pending an operations review and a 2% efficiency study of the sheriff's budget.
Sheriff Alicia Dyer told the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 19 that rising jail population, an attrition-driven reduction to the sheriff's operating budget and an underfunded food and medical contract created a multi-million-dollar shortfall this year.
Dyer said the operating budget has historically returned about $28 million in revenue to the county but that a board-adopted attrition adjustment reduced her office's operating budget by $2,590,000. Compounded by an estimated food and medical contract shortfall of roughly $1,600,000 for 2025, she asked the board to approve a quarter-three budget adjustment to cover the gap and to fully fund next year's food and medical contracts.
"We have to feed people in the jail three meals a day and provide medical services," Dyer said. She described overtime as driven by contracts and operational need and explained that when vacancies are backfilled through…
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