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Sheriff outlines airport 24/7 unit, equipment needs and jail software replacement in budget review
Summary
The sheriff briefed commissioners on a newly established 24/7 airport law-enforcement unit, rising evidence and IT costs, plans to save for a Lenco Bearcat armored vehicle, and the need to replace a failing jail-management system with a modern vendor-supported product.
Flathead County’s sheriff and command staff used the May 7 budget hearing to explain operational and capital needs across law enforcement, including a new round-the-clock airport unit, evidence-processing pressures, armored-vehicle planning and a planned replacement for the department’s aging jail-management system.
Commander Smith said the sheriff’s office established a 24/7 airport law-enforcement unit at Glacier Park International Airport less than a year after the county took responsibility for checkpoint security; the unit has handled more than 1,500 law-enforcement actions since May 2025, Smith said, and the airport is reimbursing the county for those services. Karen Morrifide, the sheriff’s finance representative, confirmed reimbursements have been received through March and that monthly billing is occurring.
On equipment, the sheriff’s office said its current MRAP is operationally limited and visually “militaristic,” and staff described plans to save toward a Lenco Bearcat (staff proposed saving roughly $300,000 toward acquisition). Commander Smith said the privately loaned Bearcat has been used operationally and insurance coverage is in place, but commissioners discussed long-term insurance and deployment logistics.
Commander Jennifer Root described the jail-management (JMS) system as a 20-year-old, in-house platform that fails intermittently and forced paper booking on one recent day. Root said the county has budgeted startup CIP funds and will issue an RFQ; her office had a cost estimate from Tyler Technologies and will seek comparable offers. A modern commercial JMS would provide 24/7 vendor support, improve reporting and reduce IT staff demands, she said.
Sheriff staff also warned of rising evidence-processing costs caused by understaffed state crime labs; when the state labs cannot process items such as gunshot-residue or DNA in a timely way, county prosecutors and investigators may pay to send items to private labs, a cost the sheriff said has increased significantly.
Next steps: finance staff will continue billing and tracking airport reimbursements; sheriff’s office will pursue RFQ for JMS replacement and continue to refine CIP savings targets for equipment such as a Bearcat.
