Washtenaw commissioners approve budget with central reserve after debate over sheriff's jail food, medical shortfall

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 overtime the effective cost can rise to 2'2.5 times pay rates. "The human story is deputies working 16 hours back to back, hired, working to exhaustion," she said, arguing that mandated overtime — while costly — prevented inhumane lockdowns.

Several commissioners pressed Dyer for operational detail. Commissioner Justin Hodge asked specifically about long wait times for professional visits in a housing unit; Commander Shipakasi explained the ITR desk was designed for three staff but had been run with two to save budget, reducing throughput. Commissioner Scott defended the board's earlier attrition decision as a county-wide step to free up money for raises, and said the 3% attrition applied across departments; he and others asked for fuller fiscal analysis of operational decisions.

The board debated whether funding more for the sheriff's office now would leave less money available for prevention-driven programs such as permanent supportive housing, which several commissioners said deliver long-term jail-population reductions. Commissioners Ravi and Somerville both urged continued emphasis on prevention, while others warned against reverting to widespread lockdowns as the primary cost-cutting mechanism.

After discussion and amendments, the board approved the quadrennial 2026'1029 budget and separate actions that altered the sheriff's requested Q3 increase: the board reduced the immediate Q3 adjustment and created a central reserve to hold funds earmarked for jail food and medical in 2027'130 pending a program and operations review. The resolution directs county finance and the sheriff's office to conduct a review that identifies actionable pathways to achieve a 2% reduction in the sheriff's general-fund operating budget and to itemize the potential operational impacts. If savings are confirmed and deemed operationally feasible, funds from the reserve may be moved into the sheriff's budget in 2027'130 through the reaffirmation process.

Dyer told the board she supports the review and reiterated she is open to collaboration with finance and commissioners to find efficiencies that do not jeopardize safety. "If you set me a reasonable budget, I will meet that budget," she said.

The board also asked county staff to incorporate greater transparency and monitoring of future jail-contract procurements (medical RFPs are in process; the food contract is scheduled next year) and asked for future briefings showing how any operational changes would affect custodial safety, visitation and community corrections.

The next procedural step is the sheriff's office and county finance completing the program operations review and returning findings to the board so commissioners can vote on any transfers from the central reserve during the 2027 reaffirmation process.