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Mayor presents FY2026–27 budget with $2M gap; sheriff warns of staffing losses tied to low pay
Summary
Mayor Chris Cutshaw presented the unedited FY2026–27 budget with an estimated $2 million general fund shortfall driven mainly by personnel, benefits and jail costs. The sheriff’s office reported high vehicle maintenance costs and rising operating expenses and urged a substantial pay increase to stop recruitment and retention losses.
County Mayor Chris Cutshaw presented an unedited FY2026–27 budget to commissioners May 11 that lists roughly a $2 million general‑fund deficit driven largely by personnel and benefit costs, increased utility and maintenance obligations, and new operating expenses associated with the justice center and health clinic.
Cutshaw said the county has added positions across courts, data processing and maintenance, and that all corrections officers received a 10% cost‑of‑living increase last year while other county employees received 7% following a salary study. He reported an estimated $36 million in overall property-tax collections and said wheel‑tax revenue is being dedicated to highway capital projects (about $3.3 million).
In the sheriff’s office presentation that followed, Michelle Green (executive assistant to Sheriff Mullins) and other staff reviewed operational requests and argued for efficiency savings in many line items but also highlighted unavoidable increases in maintenance agreements, training and investigative subscriptions. The sheriff’s office reported $100,000+ in vehicle maintenance this fiscal year to date, attributed much of the cost to high mileage and fleet choices (notably 2021 Dodge Chargers), and proposed switching to Ford Explorer-based vehicles and purchasing three fully equipped replacements at roughly $57,495 each.
Sheriff Mullins and staff urged a substantial compensation increase for deputies and detention staff, saying the department has lost experienced officers to neighboring agencies, ICE, municipal police and state troopers. The sheriff presented comparisons showing starting patrol pay lagging surrounding counties and said the county’s starting pay contributes to turnover; he warned that training investments are lost when officers leave and urged the commission to consider a meaningful raise during the budget process.
Commissioners acknowledged the retention problem and asked staff to provide additional data (head counts by department, fund‑balance history, cost estimates for COLA scenarios) at a Saturday budget workshop. No final salary decisions were made at the May 11 meeting; commissioners said they will address pay as part of the larger budget discussions.
