Resident urges commissioners to scrutinize sheriff's department pay in budget comment

A resident who identified himself as Jerard Classroom used his allotted three minutes during public comment to press the Board of County Commissioners to scrutinize the draft county budget and to question recent increases for the sheriff’s department.

Classroom said the department’s per‑person average compensation after recent adjustments was about $112,000 and questioned whether the county should automatically increase compensation based on reported starting pay. "After everything was said and done the budget ... allotted $112,000 per person in that department," he said, adding that a 9% increase had recently been applied. He urged commissioners to seek independent review rather than accept statistics presented by department advocates.

Commissioners thanked the speaker for his input; no board action was taken in response to the remarks during the meeting. The board’s meeting record includes a standard disclaimer that public‑comment remarks do not reflect the board’s positions.