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Sheriff’s office seeks higher overtime funding; county agrees to freeze positions to offset part of increase
Summary
County staff reported the sheriff’s overtime request was revised up to $2 million; commissioners agreed to freeze seven detention deputy positions for FY27, which staff said would offset roughly $742,000 and net about $603,000 of the overtime increase pending supporting documentation.
Kootenai County budget staff told commissioners June 23 that the sheriff’s office wants to increase its overtime appropriation to $2.0 million for FY27 and plans to offset much of the request by freezing unfilled positions.
Brandy Falcon said the sheriff’s base overtime budget was $925,000 and that the department proposed a loaded increase to $2.0 million. To offset the increase, the sheriff’s office proposed de‑funding seven of 17 open detention deputy positions (100% of those positions for FY27), which Falcon said would save approximately $742,000 and leave a net cost of about $603,000.
Commissioners asked for the documentation that supports the department’s calculations and said they wanted that material “sooner rather than later” before making a final decision. Falcon confirmed supporting paperwork exists and will be provided.
Board members discussed the operational trade-offs of freezing positions versus funding overtime. A sheriff’s representative told the board the five custody techs the office seeks to add would be needed to break even operationally and that if the office reaches full staffing in a later year overtime could be reduced and frozen positions reinstated as funded positions.
The board indicated preliminary support for freezing seven detention deputy positions for FY27 to fund the overtime line and asked staff to bring back the sheriff’s detailed calculations to validate the net impact on the bottom line.
