Hardin County approves sheriff vehicle purchases, creates split chief-deputy roles
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Summary
Commissioners approved purchase of three patrol SUVs funded by the SB 22 rural law-enforcement grant and agreed to reclassify a corrections captain into a second chief-deputy role, reallocating existing FY26 funds. The sheriff explained the purchases are for fleet replacement and answered questions about allowable uses of SB 22 funds.
Hardin County commissioners on Feb. 10 approved purchases of patrol vehicles for the sheriff's office and a reclassification of command-level positions designed to split law-enforcement and corrections responsibilities.
Sheriff Mark Davis asked the court to authorize buying two 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe PPVs at $51,409 each and one 2026 Chevrolet Tahoe PPV at $54,398 through Lake Country Chevrolet and a cooperative purchasing program. Davis said the vehicles will be funded by the rural law-enforcement grant commonly referred to in the meeting as "SB 22." "This is coming out of SB 22," Davis said, adding that the program restricts allowable uses and is intended to help counties modernize aging fleets.
Commissioners asked for clarification after some public questions about why the funds are used for vehicles rather than other county needs. One commissioner said the public had expressed concern about the purchases; another thanked the sheriff for the explanation. "I just wanna thank the sheriff for explaining this," an unnamed commissioner said during debate.
Separately, Davis proposed reducing the LE-15 chief deputy pay from $85,234 to $83,866 and reclassifying the corrections captain to a chief-deputy role effective Feb. 15, 2026. The sheriff said the change would split responsibilities between two chief deputies so each would oversee roughly 30–35 employees and would not add new positions or require new money, only an internal reallocation within the FY26 sheriff's budget.
Candice McKinney, the county auditor, confirmed the line-item changes and explained minor rounding differences in payroll components. Commissioners expressed support for the plan and extended congratulations to the staff who will move into the new roles.
All motions related to the vehicle purchases and the reclassification were moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.
Next steps: the purchases will proceed through the cooperative purchasing program and the county will implement the pay-scale change and reclassification effective Feb. 15, 2026.
