Sheriff reports drug interdictions, staffing levels and jail expansion timeline to commissioners

Sheriff Bill Wilkie presented a detailed annual summary to the Haywood County Board of Commissioners, reporting personnel levels, operations statistics and plans for a jail expansion. He said the Sheriff's Office has 151 authorized positions with about 12 vacancies (roughly an 8–11% vacancy range by measure) and that recent payroll showed 149 people reported to work. On patrol and investigations, the sheriff cited 3,046 reported incidents with roughly 1,000 closures by arrest and highlighted drug interdictions: "marijuana remains the number one; number two is methamphetamine with 5,474.6 grams," he said, and he reported fentanyl seizures including dosage units.

Wilkie also described reintegration and recovery-court referrals as important elements of reducing recidivism and said the jail expansion would add 155 new beds with construction on schedule for completion in March 2026 and an operational move planned for mid-2026, subject to staffing and occupancy analysis. He emphasized partnerships with health and human services, the school system (SROs), and regional agencies for intelligence and mutual aid. Commissioners asked for trend data and the sheriff said trafficking arrests were slightly lower than last year but cautioned about displacement effects and regional movement of drug markets.