Sheriff warns cuts could shift costs and strain dispatch amid high overtime

The county sheriff told the Board of Supervisors that the proposed unfunding of positions risks shifting costs within the department rather than producing net savings and could reduce front-line services.

"We're now eliminating 2 dispatcher positions and 1 supervisor position," the sheriff said, and noted that his seven dispatchers "are working 3,000 hours of overtime" in 2025–26. He warned that cutting certain allocations could require pulling deputies from patrol to cover dispatch or court-security duties or leave mandated posts unfilled.

The sheriff said some of the budgetary moves appear to move salary dollars into different accounts—raising overtime and reducing base salary allocations—rather than cutting overall compensation. He urged the board to consider operational consequences before finalizing unfunding decisions and to review which positions are funded by grants or subventions.

Board members acknowledged the problem and asked administration to check which vacant positions are in active hiring backgrounds so that two deputy-shift hires could be funded; the CAO's office indicated some corrections and probation positions will be shown as funded after review. No final vote on the sheriff-related positions was taken on Oct. 1; supervisors set a Nov. 17 follow-up on staffing and asked staff to return with a clearer matrix of grant-funded vs general-fund positions.