Sheriff flags rising transport workload and questions charging rural towns for patrols

Sheriff Chad briefed supervisors on multiple sheriff's functions, saying uniform patrol has 19 deputies and rural patrol 9, and that transport work has increased substantially—daily trips to the federal courthouse and repeated long transports have stretched staff.

"There's 19 deputies in uniform patrol and 9 in rural," said Jennifer Beeson (sheriff's office staff), reporting current staffing. The sheriff explained the county historically provided rural town patrols without charging, and staff are evaluating fair compensation models; several counties in the region charge towns for the service.

On transport staffing, the sheriff outlined options: hire part‑time off‑duty or retired officers (cheaper but scheduling‑intensive), bring on full‑time staff (more flexible but costlier), or contract outside services (expensive). He estimates a 0.5 FTE part‑time position at roughly $35k per year and noted $150k could seed multiple part‑time hires but would not fully fund two full‑time correctional officers. Supervisors expressed interest in receiving the budget and inserting placeholder funds for further planning; the board approved a motion to receive with an additional $150,000 for part‑time transport staffing (5‑0).