Finance committee approves sheriff's overtime budget amendment amid staffing and jail-population pressures

The Walworth County Finance Committee on July 23 approved a resolution authorizing a budget amendment for the Sheriff's Office to increase funding for prisoner transportation, communications, corrections and patrol overtime and related fringe benefits. Finance staff said a similar amendment was adopted last July and that the requested increase will be covered from old position savings rather than from an additional appropriation outside the department's budget.

Undersheriff (responding for the sheriff's office) described multiple factors driving overtime, including sustained jail population growth and recruiting shortfalls: "We are above 200 consistently in the last 6 months," the undersheriff said, and added that recruitment has declined compared with earlier years and that some candidates fail background or psychological screening. Committee members asked whether vacancies or jail-population growth are the main drivers; staff said the issue is interwoven across patrol, corrections and transports and that budget-year responses likely will appear during the next-year budget process.

Committee discussion included questions about filling transportation duties and an explanation that the requested amendment is designed to carry staffing costs through the rest of the year. The committee approved the resolution by voice vote; the motion included no named roll-call tally in the transcript.