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Staff lays out sheriff budget math: $6,314 general-fund increase this year; $1.6M tied to jail transfer
Summary
Cochise County budget staff told supervisors the sheriff's FY request totals about $2.28 million, with only $6,314 counted as the general-fund increase this year and roughly $600,000 in additional funding requests pending approval; the larger increase is driven by a maintenance-of-effort transfer to the jail district that staff said is required by statute.
At the Cochise County Board of Supervisors work session on May 4 county budget staff walked supervisors through line-item details of the sheriff's office request and clarified several commonly misunderstood figures.
Stacy told the board the sheriff's department had a proposed total increase of $2,277,169. She said roughly $1.6 million of that total represents a transfer tied to the jail district and is treated under law as a maintenance-of-effort obligation; staff described the statutory transfer as the primary driver of the larger number.
"Most of that is comprised of the $1.6 million increase to the jail," Stacy said, then clarified the budgeted general-fund impact: "The only true increase they're asking for in this year is $6,314." She and others noted that past funding requests rolled into the current packet would raise the total if the board approves additional items under consideration, which staff estimated at about $600,000.
Staff also reviewed grant trends, saying some grants are decreasing while others have increased; they noted the state border strike force funding has grown in recent budgets and has helped offset some public-safety costs, while certain legacy private grants (the "care team" grant) had ended and budgeting for mental-health partnerships is shifting to local IGA arrangements with cities and towns.
On intergovernmental agreements, staff said animal-control costs and shelter IGAs for Douglas, Benson and Wilcox are being reallocated in the sheriff's budget and that the apparent increase in those line items reflects reallocation more than a new service or headcount.
Board members asked whether bonuses or benefit-plan design (such as higher deductibles) could reduce costs and help retention. Staff and sheriff cautioned that a bonus program can be unreliable for retention and urged caution before changing benefits in ways that could harm recruitment.
Stacy said staff would return with any requested follow-up detail as the budget process proceeds; no board votes were taken at the work session.
