Sheriffs staffing and vehicle leases a central focus as commissioners seek cuts
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Commissioner and staff discussion centered on the sheriffs request for additional deputies and associated vehicle/leasing costs; commissioners asked the sheriff to propose specific reductions to help close the budget gap.
Teton County commissioners and staff spent a substantial portion of the June 30 meeting discussing the sheriffs budget request, which includes additional deputies, supervisory promotions and vehicle costs.
The draft budget lists new personnel requests including three deputy positions, creation of a lieutenant post and an additional detective. The draft also accounts for vehicles and related equipment: capital vehicles are presented in the budget at roughly $204,000 (twelve leased vehicles were discussed), and lease costs were described in the meeting as about $18,000 per vehicle per year for the largest fleet items. The transcript includes an estimate that a fully loaded deputy position (salary, benefits, vehicle and equipment) costs in the neighborhood of $150,000, though department-level accounting is the final source for staffing costs.
Commissioners and the County Clerk discussed short-term options to reduce sheriff-related spending. The clerk asked the sheriff to identify up to $50,000 to $150,000 of near-term reductions and set a rapid turnaround (a Wednesday deadline mentioned in the meeting) to get back to the commission with a list of cuts and trade-offs. Participants also discussed shifting some one-time or implementation expenses to remaining cash rather than recurring funds.
Other topics attached to the sheriff budget included radio and communications contracts, body-worn camera and records-storage costs, and ammunition and training budgets. Commissioners asked for a prioritized list from the sheriff so the board can decide which portions of that offices requests are essential and which might be deferred, funded by grants, or paid by partner cities in exchange for additional service levels.
No formal decision to change the sheriffs budget was recorded; the clerk and commissioners directed the sheriff to return a menu of cuts and savings by the stated deadline so the board can reconcile those reductions with other county-wide line items.