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York County sheriff's office requests 6.16% budget increase, highlights overtime and vehicle costs
Summary
A sheriff's office representative asked the board for a combined 6.16% increase, citing a 12% insurance rise, chronic overtime from short staffing, plans to add an officer in 2027, and vehicle purchases previously funded by federal grants now needing local budget support.
A representative of the sheriff's office told the York County Board of Commissioners the office is requesting a combined 6.16% increase for two budgets to cover rising insurance, overtime and vehicle needs.
"Our insurance went up 12% as it did in many of the other departments," the sheriff's office representative said, explaining one of several cost drivers. The presenter said the office intends to add one sworn officer in 2027, with partial funding included in the current fiscal year, citing increased call volume and open shifts as contributors to overtime. The base salary for the new position was described as "in that 70,000 range."
The presenter said vehicle funding that previously came from federal sources has shrunk. "Since 2020, we've enjoyed having some of those federal funds, to the tune of spending $660,000 on vehicles," they said, adding that amount covered 11 vehicles and installations over several years. With that funding declining, the office proposed budgeting for at least one vehicle this year and another next year to maintain the patrol fleet. The speaker gave a per'vehicle estimate of about $65,000 for the vehicle itself plus $10,000'$15,000 to outfit it for patrol use.
Commissioners asked whether adding one officer would substantially reduce overtime. The sheriff's office representative said one additional sworn officer (bringing the force closer to 15 officers) would "get us closer" to reducing overtime, but acknowledged the problem is multifaceted and that additional monitoring would be required to see a sustained change.
The presenter said the office will pursue Nebraska Department of Highway Safety reimbursements for eligible activities and noted that without an expected roughly $60,000 in grant reimbursements the combined budget number would be higher (the speaker cited a figure of about $189,000 for both budgets absent that grant). The board did not take a vote during the session; members asked staff to follow up with more detailed line'item information for the packet.
