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Budget committee advances sheriff's budget amid Axon lease and rising jail medical costs
Summary
Williamson County's budget committee approved the sheriff's departmental line items after staff explained a long-term Axon lease is excluded from the 5% cut target and the jail is projecting about a $600,000 medical/dental shortfall before year-end.
Williamson County budget committee members advanced the sheriff's 2025-26 departmental budget on April 6 after staff and the sheriff explained how a long-term equipment lease and rising inmate medical costs affected the figures.
The committee approved the sheriff's primary operating line (department 54110) by voice vote. Staff said the Axon contract ' which bundles body and in-car cameras, TASER equipment, drone capability and records-management services ' is treated as a capitalized lease and therefore was not counted toward the committee's 5% reduction target. A staff presenter said the annual lease payment for that consolidated line is listed in the draft budget as $2,273,512.
Sheriff (role title used in transcript) told the committee the office had restructured the contract and stretched payments across multiple years but that the lease payment is fixed. "That payment is set in stone," the sheriff said during discussion.
The sheriff also warned of a significant shortfall in inmate medical and dental costs, saying the department is 'probably going to have a deficit of about $600,000' before year-end. The sheriff identified TK Health as the current contracted vendor for inmate medical services, noting the company had merged with the prior vendor, Fast Access; staff said TK Health has provided services for roughly 18 months.
Committee members and staff emphasized the distinction between discretionary line items and non-cuttable, contracted payments when calculating the 5% reduction target. A staff presenter explained they subtracted contract and other non-discretionary costs before applying the percentage cut, which is why some lines show an apparent increase even though the overall operating budget met the 5% reduction target when those exceptions were removed.
Commissioner Sargent asked whether the budget included a crossing guard at Crestline; sheriff staff said funds were budgeted but that recruiting and retention for the hours required have made the positions difficult to fill.
The committee approved other sheriff-related line items discussed in the session, including traffic (54130) and jail corrections (54210), which was shown in the budget as $12,257,408.
Members closed the sheriff segment after unanimous voice votes and moved on to other items. The budget committee will reconvene at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow to continue review of the consolidated budget.
