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Lincoln County approves hires as sheriff warns of short-staffing and possible resignations
Summary
The Board of Lincoln County Commissioners authorized multiple hires for the Sheriff’s Office, including a road deputy and two reserve positions, after the sheriff reported staff shortages and no passing candidates in recent civil service testing.
Lincoln County commissioners unanimously approved several hiring requests made by Sheriff Gabe Gants on June 15, 2026, to address staffing shortages driven by recent resignations and deployments. The board approved hiring a Road Deputy anticipatorily, and authorized two reserve positions: a Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy (position L48) and a Reserve Communications/Corrections Deputy (position L40).
Gabe Gants told the board that civil service testing for non-commissioned positions produced no passing candidates and that he anticipates up to two road deputies may resign by the end of July. The sheriff also said the Spokane Academy list requires reserved space prior to June 30, prompting a request to proceed with recruitments and possible emergency hire submissions to the Civil Service board. The actions were approved by unanimous vote.
The board recorded the hiring approvals as formal motions. The actions tabled and approved include authorization to hire a Road Deputy in anticipation of a resignation, approval to hire a Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy for position L48, and approval to hire a Reserve Communications/Corrections Deputy for position L40. No salary or effective-start dates beyond the letter noting Thor Foley’s June 5, 2026 Reserve Communications/Corrections appointment were specified in the minutes.
Next steps: the sheriff’s office will proceed with recruitment, and the board’s authorization allows the sheriff to reserve training slots and submit emergency-hire requests to Civil Service as needed.
