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Douglas County sheriff urges funding for deputies, court-security staff as jail costs climb
Summary
Sheriff Jay Armbruster told commissioners the sheriff's office is asking for two deputies and additional court-security staff and an IT support position in the proposed 2027 budget to cover courthouse moves, rising equipment costs and a resource-intensive jail population; commissioners were warned this adds roughly $2 million to sheriff operations and will affect county priorities.
Sheriff Jay Armbruster told the Douglas County Board of Commissioners on July 7 that his office’s 2027 supplemental requests include two deputy positions to staff the new courthouse and additional court-security administration and that the department still needs one IT support FTE left over from last year’s requests.
“we are now out of 181, funded employees,” Armbruster said, noting the office is operating “less than 10 short” of funded positions and that filling those slots and new court-security posts will require additional vehicles, training and license costs. He argued that the new courthouse’s expanded caseload and simultaneous courtrooms require more deputies to provide safe, continuous coverage.
Undersheriff Stacy Simmons said the IT support role is important because much of the sheriff’s hardware purchases remain unspent in the current IT equipment reserve and because new federal mandates—such as multifactor authentication for Spillman users—will create recurring license costs for all agencies using the network. “It it should be 1.7,” Simmons said when clarifying that the medical services line totals $1.7 million and covers mental-health contracts, the MAT program and the turnkey medical contract.
Commissioners questioned how much the sheriff’s requests would increase the county’s mill levy and whether savings exist elsewhere. One commissioner flagged that adding personnel and related costs (vehicles, Axon/body-cam licensing, training) drives a roughly $2 million jump in sheriff operations, which “has to come from some other mission of the county,” the commissioner said.
Armbruster described how court-security promotions and part-time checkpoint staff interaction with operations affect the pipeline for patrol and investigative positions. He said adding a lieutenant to court security would provide needed administrative oversight and free a sergeant to manage on-the-floor safety. “Court security, as of today, with full time and part time has 14 individuals,” he said, and adding a lieutenant would make that shift’s supervision comparable to others.
The sheriff and staff emphasized there were few places left to cut without undermining operations; they pointed to high training costs (12-week correctional training, academy time), equipment costs that can exceed prior budget levels, and variable medical and transportation expenses when detainees require out-of-county placements.
The commission did not take a vote on the requests at the July 7 session. Staff said they will deliver a comprehensive updated budget package, with highlighted changes, before Thursday’s deliberations to allow commissioners to consider the sheriff’s supplemental requests in the context of county-wide priorities.
The commission recessed for a five-minute break at the end of the sheriff’s presentation; the hearing will continue with additional departmental partners.
