Undersheriff Matt Kelly defends sheriff's office budget amid commissioner questioning

Undersheriff Matt Kelly addressed comments from commissioners questioning increases in the sheriff's office budget. Kelly said certain contracts, including radio maintenance with Motorola and refuse/trash contracts, were not budgeted to the sheriff's department and that the department had to absorb those costs when contracts were executed. "When we have contracts that are signed by the commission, and we don't get budgeted for those contracts, then it makes us look bad because we go over," Kelly said.

A commissioner pressed Kelly on broad trends, stating the sheriff's budget had risen 88% from 2017 to the present; Kelly said he did not have that number at hand and emphasized that vacancies in the department and differing staff levels compared with peer counties affect budgeting comparisons. Kelly offered to meet with commissioners to review the figures and discuss options for cost savings, training location choices and staffing strategies.