Elk County budget requests.....

[Patriot]

2013 department budget requests for our county department & offices are coming in.  At Monday's county commission meeting, several requests were received and tentatively approved by the Commission.  One, however, was not....

The Elk County Sheriff, who was not present to personally justify his request, asked for an increase of $25,000 over the current budget.  Commissioner Ritz raised questions....

Mr. Ritz reported that, until recently, the Sheriff's budget included payments of over $4,000/month for the cost of housing a juvenile offender in an out of county facility.  Ritz reported that the payment is no longer being paid, and the County Attorney had advised him that we would never likely incur such costs again due to changes in the legal system.  Fortunately the request was temporarily tabled until the next meeting.

If my math is right, that means the Sheriff would gaining over $40,000 in reduced costs for next year, and he still wants another $25,000 in additional budget increases.  $65,000 (give or take) more for the Sheriff to spend next year!  Really?  Are we, the taxpayers, going to make a down payment for a new drone?  Maybe a small armed personnel carrier for those extra tough meth lab busts we make every year?  Spare TASER batteries perhaps?  More pay raises for his staff in addition to the ones given in the last year or so?  Maybe another deputy, truck n TASER.  And your Sheriff couldn't be bothered to even show up to justify the request?  Heck, it's only money.  Where does this stop?  This is YOUR money, taxpayers!

For what it's worth, $65,000 will buy about 9280 TONS of road rock... 18,560,000 lbs of the stuff.  Or over 19,000 gallons of diesel fuel for heavy equipment. $1.00/hr pay raise (including benefits) for about 20 other county employees who haven't seen a pay increase in 5 years or so. Over 23,700 tubes of 35yr warranted caulk to seal the costly energy wasting leaks around county building doors/windows.  OR MAYBE EVEN A SMALL MILL LEVY REDUCTION FOR THE TAXPAYERS!

Speaking of the next commission meeting, it will be held later in the day.  Hope you can attend.

Elections are coming, and I hear there will be some alternatives to the current Democrat/RINO tax n spend games and the "it's my money" attitude of some in County government. 

REGISTER & VOTE!  Your pocket book may depend on it!
Primary Election - Aug 7          General Election - Nov 6

[Bullwinkle]

     Good of you to bring this forward. The information I have been given over the years, is that the sherrif's department has housed many detainees and made quite a tidy sum doing it. Ergo, new vehicles, etc. I was told the county gets none of that money. I know you, Patriot, would know the facts. What are they?

[Patriot]

I can only give what I know or sincerely believe to be fact.  Caveat to the reader:  Check everything before you accept anything.

Here goes Bullwinkle...

In addition to my earlier post here, I believe the Sheriff has been receiving monies to house prisoners from Chautauqua county.  That county has a new jail and won't be sending us prisoners.  That is a large part of the basis for the $25,000 budget increase request. 

Questions:  Shouldn't the outside monies received for prisoner care be mostly absorbed in the actual housing & care of the prisoners?  Once the prisoners are gone, aren't those costs gone too?  Is there really a 'profit' in these dealings & if so isn't that putting the screws to our neighbors to the south?  Since when is there a 'profit' component to such things?  Or are we planning to retain unneeded staff at local taxpayer expense? 

As an added note, monies received under these arrangements are deposited to the county general fund and are available for the sheriff to spend er invest (as the libs in DC would say).

I believe that there was some past discussion that we might have been able to have picked up some prisoner overflow from Sedgwick county, but that option may have vaporized during negotiations.  That however is clearly rumor.  Perhaps someone else can shed more light on that.