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Finance Committee approves sheriff budget amendment after courthouse staffing shift reduces contract revenue
Summary
County staff told the committee the sheriff’s decision to reassign four courthouse staff will reduce court-administration contract revenue by about $350,000; members approved a budget amendment to reflect the loss and offset it with overtime reductions.
A county staff member told the Columbia County Finance Committee on April 18 that a change in courthouse staffing will reduce the county’s contract revenue by about $350,000.
"So that's effective... we're losing 0.5 of that revenue, $350,000," the staff member said while explaining a 2026 budget amendment for the sheriff's office. The staff member said the contract with office court administration pays roughly $700,000 a year and that four sheriff-assigned courthouse personnel will be reassigned to other buildings, shifting funding responsibility from the state to the county.
Committee members asked how the positions would be filled and were told the positions remain filled but will be county-funded going forward. The staff member said the proposed amendment reduces overtime and shifts line items to offset the revenue loss; the committee moved, seconded and carried the amendment without recorded roll-call votes.
The committee approved the change as a budget adjustment to reflect the revenue decrease and the county’s plan to monitor savings beginning July 1. Staff said the larger discussion and continued monitoring will occur during the 2027 budget process.
