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Sheriff reports jail overdoses, presents staffing plan and requests equipment options
Summary
Sheriff Brent Holbrooks presented a staffing and organizational chart intended to reduce overtime and said two added positions were included without increasing the overall budget; he also said there had been five recent overdoses in the jail and discussed an estimated $100,000 full‑body scanner to detect contraband.
Sheriff Brent Holbrooks presented a proposed organizational chart and budget overview to the Board of Commissioners, saying the department added two positions without increasing the overall budget and expects to be fully staffed by early Fall 2023. Captain Jonathan Phillips told the board the proposed FY2024 budget is about three percent higher than the revised FY2023 figure; the administration attributed the increase to proposed cost‑of‑living adjustments and step increases.
Responding to questions about courthouse security and jail contraband, Holbrooks said there had been "five recent overdoses in the jail," and that a full‑body scanning machine (Holbrooks estimated an approximate cost of $100,000) could detect contraband before it reached the general population. The sheriff said adding two positions helped reduce overtime, and the department reported a $34,000 reduction in overtime compared with the prior fiscal year.
Commissioners discussed security equipment options and the budget tradeoffs involved; no formal vote on a scanner purchase was taken at the May 30 session.
