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Sheriff seeks four deputies, dispatch staffing and vehicle upgrades as fuel and jail housing costs rise
Summary
The sheriff asked commissioners for four additional sworn positions, pay adjustments to align with regional averages, extra dispatchers, replacement patrol vehicles and updates to in-car cameras; he said fuel costs are up and that contract jail housing expenses are increasing under a new agreement.
Van Zandt County's sheriff presented an extensive budget request to the commissioners, citing rising operational costs, staffing shortfalls and equipment needs that the office says are affecting patrol, transport and detention operations.
The sheriff said he requested four sworn positions'an investigator, a sergeant, a transport deputy and a patrol deputy'and proposed across-the-board pay adjustments that combine a market-correction component (to bring pay nearer neighboring jurisdictions) plus a 3% cost-of-living addition. "What we did here on the salaries, I've requested four more deputies," the sheriff said, explaining the county's market survey and the roughly 12% total adjustment he proposed for sworn staff to close a negative gap with regional averages.
He said fuel and lubricant spending has surged: the sheriff's office projected a $75,000 increase and reported current monthly fuel consumption and costs are already stressing that line. The sheriff also outlined a vehicle replacement plan: four older marked vehicles will be retired and replaced, with upfits that include storage, lights and dual radar; he noted that in-vehicle camera systems produced by Motorola will need replacement or migration to a new N500 platform because the older cameras are no longer serviced.
On corrections, the sheriff said contracted housing costs in Henderson County are rising under a new agreement and that medical and transport demands (including frequent hospital trips and dialysis transports) add staff time. "We have an inmate that goes to dialysis ... he is one that has charges that we cannot get rid of," he said, describing recurring transport needs that tie up deputies.
Dispatch was another major focus. The sheriff asked for additional dispatch staff to reduce console overload and to support planned radio-system upgrades that will add another console; he said last year the office handled roughly 15,000 calls (about 13,200 excluding traffic stops), which creates persistent workloads for a small dispatch team.
Commissioners asked for line-item detail, cost estimates for vehicle upfits and confirmation of where savings or offsets might be found. No personnel or equipment purchases were approved at the workshop; the sheriff was asked to return with itemized bids and further documentation to support the proposed salary adjustments and other requests.
