Sheriff warns of jail pressure, juvenile‑facility strain and recommends consistent 96% staffing baseline

Sheriff Brian Mueller presented the sheriff’s office and corrections budgets and pressed the commission to adopt a consistent staffing baseline (96%) when comparing department requests across years. He said the sheriff’s office budget as submitted could be converted to a 96% staffing basis to produce roughly $1 million of county budget flexibility when applied consistently across departments.

Mueller described sustained jail pressure: local jail population that frequently exceeds rated capacity, a sizable number of detainees serving sentences and high medical and transport needs. He said the county is negotiating to house additional federal detainees (U.S. Marshals, Bureau of Prisons) at market rates; because federal detainees can generate per‑bed revenue, the sheriff suggested this as an opportunity to increase facility revenue and offset county costs. He also outlined juvenile services center security upgrades identified in a recent audit and requested work to eliminate overtime and safely open additional secure beds if contract opportunities with state or federal partners allow.

The sheriff previewed potential grant opportunities — a large Department of Justice grant and other federal funding streams — that might offset capital investments and jail‑capacity work, and he asked commissioners to consider earlier adoption of the 96% baseline for consistent budget comparisons.

Quote attribution: Sheriff Mueller noted the juvenile center is “running about 41” secure beds on average and described persistent overtime pressure that adding contracted beds could relieve.