Douglas County sheriff urges funding for court security and staffing as jail care needs rise

Sheriff Jay Armbruster told Douglas County commissioners on July 7, 2026, that his office is requesting supplemental staff and equipment funding for the 2027 budget to support court security, fill deputy and IT positions and cover rising recurring costs tied to new technology contracts and medical contracts.

"In my 28 years, our turnover rate is better than it's ever been," Armbruster said, adding the sheriff's office currently has 181 funded positions and is "less than 10 short," mostly at entry‑level corrections. He said the jail now houses a smaller total population than pre‑COVID but that the remaining population is more medically and behaviorally complex and therefore more costly per person.

Katie Fitzgerald, the county’s criminal justice coordinator, summarized the supplemental requests, noting two deputy positions requested in prior years remain pending and one additional IT support position is included in the 2027 request. Undersheriff Stacy Simmons described multiple equipment reserve lines—IT hardware, vehicle reserves, jail equipment and a sheriff's equipment reserve—explaining those funds pay for planned hardware, body alarms, kitchen flooring and contingency repairs.

A commissioner pressed staff about a discrepancy in the budget narrative for the jail medical line; Simmons clarified the medical services line, which she said covers mental‑health partners (Bert Nash), MIR and the MAT program plus the turnkey medical contract, totals $1,700,000 and the narrative should be updated to match the budget document.

Commissioners questioned the size and use of equipment reserves and whether those funds were serving as a general "rainy day" account. Simmons and county staff said equipment reserves are intended for planned capital and equipment purchases and not for ongoing operating shortfalls, though some lines may be used for urgent, hard‑to‑predict repairs. She also warned of federal IT requirements—specifically a forthcoming multifactor authentication mandate for the Spillman system—that will increase costs for licenses and authentication tokens across agencies that use the network.

The sheriff described how out‑of‑county housing and placements strain staffing: he and Fitzgerald reported eight people were in treatment settings and 16 were awaiting transfers to state facilities such as Larned or Osawatomie, a volume that increases staff workload and overtime. "When you have that many, it does everything negative that we could ask for when it comes to staffing," Armbruster said.

Commissioners also asked how additional court security deputies would affect public safety. Armbruster said the courthouse requires a visible and reliable security presence for escorts, incident reporting and to ensure court operations run smoothly; court security currently includes roughly 14 full‑ and part‑time staff, and the 2027 request includes a lieutenant for court security to provide supervisory coverage on each shift. "That will give that shift … a lieutenant to do some admin work that that sergeant simply doesn't have time to do now," he said.

Staff and the sheriff outlined the full cost of new FTEs beyond salaries: 12 weeks of training for corrections hires, academy time for deputies, uniforms, vests, weapons and vehicle purchases and outfitting. Commissioners noted these additions increase the mill levy pressure and will require tradeoffs elsewhere in the county budget. One commissioner observed the sheriff’s operational costs appear to have risen despite upstream investments and asked why downstream jail costs haven’t declined; Armbruster and staff answered that the jail population’s medical and behavioral needs have grown more expensive even as total population numbers fell.

The sheriff also highlighted local partnerships: he said the sheriff’s office has funded temporary beds and worked closely with community reentry partners such as Bert Nash and Cardinal Housing Network and praised their rapid placements. On competency restoration, Armbruster said the county is piloting a program for medication‑compliant, lower‑acuity people that has removed about 10–15% of those on the waiting list from out‑of‑county placements, though the program cannot yet absorb large numbers.

With limited discussion remaining, the chair closed the sheriff’s presentation and called a five‑minute break; commissioners will review corrected budget pages and updated fund‑balance and behavioral‑health spreadsheets before deliberation.

Ending note: The hearing moved to a scheduled short recess and was set to resume at 10:07 a.m.