Sheridan County Sheriff Levi Dominguez told commissioners June 16 that payroll and staffing records used in earlier budget drafts did not reflect several hires and promotions, and asked the board to consider adding personnel to detention and courthouse security.

Dominguez said a communication gap had left five employees and several promotions unrecorded in the clerk’s initial spreadsheets; as a result, detention staffing costs will be higher than earlier presented. He asked the board to consider adding two full-time controllers to reduce the number of fill-in shifts (he estimated monthly coverage would fall from 76 eight-hour shifts to about 36 eight-hour shifts) and to consider adding an additional courthouse deputy to ensure statutory court security coverage during overlapping hearings.

Dominguez said adding two controllers would be roughly revenue-neutral in overtime and fill-in savings, while adding a courthouse deputy would increase detention budget costs; he estimated the detention budget could be about $200,000 higher than the spreadsheet in front of the board once adjustments are made. He also urged commissioners to consider a 2.5% step increase or cost-of-living adjustment for county employees to retain staff amid competitive pay in neighboring jurisdictions.

Commissioners and staff asked Dominguez to provide updated, reconciled numbers; county budget and HR staff agreed to rework the spreadsheets and return a corrected version showing current hires, promotions and the fiscal effect of any requested additions.

Ending: The sheriff’s requests were discussed but not approved; staff were directed to prepare updated budget figures reflecting the sheriff’s staffing, promotions and vacancies for the next meeting.