The Patrick County Sheriff’s Office operates at nearly half the cost per resident compared to the national average, according to Sheriff Dan Smith. Fiscal Year 2024 numbers indicate the portion of funds under the sheriff’s purview totals $7,601,118.
The total county budget in FY 2024 is $69,953,932. With 44.16 percent, or $3,357,057 of the budget funded by the state, that leaves 55.84 percent, or $4,244,061, to be funded by county taxpayers.
“Local tax dollars used to fund sheriff’s office operations only comprise 6.06 percent of the total county budget. That equates to only $243.34 annually per resident. The national average is $480 per resident,” Smith said and noted that total equates to 67 cents a day per resident to cover law enforcement operations, jail operations, court security for three courts, funding for school resource officers in every school, animal control operations, and 911 Communications operations for sheriff, fire, and rescue.
“I would say that 67 cents per day for the services we provide to keep those we serve safe is quite a bargain,” the sheriff stated.
He added that inflation has risen 21.7 percent since 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics.
“When you combine the anti-law enforcement rhetoric, and abnormally high inflation over the past four years, every law enforcement budget in the country has taken a hit,” Smith said.
Retention of employees hit an all-time low between 2019 and 2024, with 36 deputies leaving the office, many of whom left for higher-paying jobs with other departments. Smith said that the national anti-law enforcement sentiment, combined with significant wage increases due to inflation in other sectors, caused an exodus that has been unforeseen in the past.
“All we did for a five year period is hire and re-train folks, costing the county hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Smith said. The General Assembly, Board of Supervisors, and county administration worked with Smith over that period to try to raise the pay of deputy sheriffs to a level that was in the market base of other law enforcement agencies in the region.
Smith said that vacancies have slowed over the past year, partly because of a slowing economy, but also because the pay is finally somewhat competitive.
“We invest tens of thousands of dollars into the training of every deputy sheriff,” Smith said. “We have got to continue to be competitive in one of the most competitive job markets in the country.”
Smith spends much of the winter and early spring annually talking with board members and working with the county administrator’s office in preparing his budget and analyzing line items (expenses) one by one.
“The school budget makes up the lion’s share of the total county budget, and we are second,” Smith said, adding that this is typical among all local government budgets statewide. Inflation over the past five years has had an extraordinary impact on core areas of his budget, particularly in inmate medical payments, inmate food, motor vehicle parts and maintenance, motor vehicle costs, and ammunition.
“Five years ago, we were able to purchase the lowest cost law enforcement vehicle offered, the Dodge Charger, for around $25,000,” he said. “By 2023, the exact same car had increased to $36,000, and then Dodge announced that they would discontinue the Charger. That left us with the two lowest-cost offerings, either the Dodge Durango or Ford Explorer (utility interceptor). The state contract cost for both of those is around $42,000.”
Vehicles need to be replaced at an average rate of about 4.5 per year to keep safe vehicles on the road for response to emergencies, the sheriff said.
“Vehicles and consistent use of force/firearms training are the most important tools and liability factors we face in protecting the public, and I will not take shortcuts on either,” Smith said, and cited an example from a few years ago, when a deputy lost control of a vehicle while responding to an emergency because the suspension in the vehicle broke.
“It’s a wonder the deputy wasn’t hurt or killed,” Smith said. “That vehicle should have never been on the road. It had long outlived its safe lifespan.”
He added that successful lawsuits have resulted in localities paying millions to officers and citizens injured due to vehicles being in operation that should have been replaced. Sworn law enforcement officers drive far more than any other governmental employees, and their vehicles are subject to extreme duty and must be replaced in a timely manner.
The cost of tires, car parts, and bulk food have all seen significant increases. Ammunition has nearly doubled in cost over the past five years, and has seen up to eighteen months in delayed delivery, Smith said, adding that his office sells old equipment in online auctions, and participates in Federal Firearms Licensed auctions of seized and unclaimed firearms as allowed by court order every five to seven years.
The proceeds of these auctions, combined with state and federal asset forfeiture funds obtained from the successful prosecution of drug dealers, are used to purchase equipment for the sheriff’s office.
“Taxpayer dollars are not used in purchasing duty weapons for this office,” Smith said. “We use money generated through successful adjudication of seizing the assets of drug dealers to purchase both lethal and less than lethal weapons.”
The sheriff said his office is aggressive in pursuing and securing grants that cover major, recurring equipment needs to help ease the burden on taxpayers. Law enforcement operations are heavily weighted with capital expenditures that have to be replaced, and that is inevitable.
“We are an accredited agency, we successfully complete state and local audits annually. We are transparent and frugal in our operations,” Smith said, “and we will continue to do the best we can for those we serve.”
