Sheriff’s Office fully funded with $4.2 million
BY KYLE TROUTMAN ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com
The Barry County Commission has passed a budget for 2024, fully funding the Barry County Sheriff’s Office to the tune of $4.2 million, a 54 percent increase, and raising county spending by $1.1 million, a 20 percent increase.
The Sheriff’s Office in 2023 had an approved budget of $2,739,170, which was paid through general revenue. Now, with a full year and three months of collection of the 2022 law enforcement sales tax, the Office is cleared to spend $4,224,454.
“Law enforcement requested $4.2 million, and that’s what we budgeted,” said Joyce Ennis, Barry County clerk. “It also had a reserve fund of $151,000, and we’re adding $131,000 to that. This funds the Sheriff’s Office fully for hiring deputies and correctional officers, adding more positions when we move into the new jail.”
“We packed the Sheriff’s Office budget because we do not know what the transition will be like,” said Gene Robbins, southern commissioner. “We’ve never done this before, [relocated the Office and jail simultaneously].”
Gary Schad, northern commissioner, said the county expects the Sheriff’s Office’s actual spending to be lower than the budgeted amount, and any remaining funds will be put in reserves or held over into 2025.
The Sheriff’s Office currently employs 15 deputies under Sheriff Danny Boyd, and the $4.2 million budget will allow Boyd to fully staff the department at 22 deputies and detectives, three full-time bailiffs and a part-time bailiff.
It will also allow for the hiring of up to 17 correctional officers by late August, when the transition to the new jail is expected to take place, upping the staff count by four.
“We have also budgeted to hire a full-time maintenance person to keep things from getting worn out,” Robbins said. “That employee will also maintain the grounds.”
Further included in the budget is funding for three new patrol cars, which Schad said are part of the normal fleet management schedule. The county maintains enough vehicles in the Sheriff’s Office fleet to be fully staffed.
Schad said the Sheriff’s Office funding is a combination of funds received in 2022 and 2023, plus projected revenues in 2024.
“With a full year of collection, we now have an idea of what we’ll be dealing with,” he said.
Presiding Commissioner Steve Blankenship said another source that may boost law enforcement coffers is the recreational marijuana tax, an added 3 percent on sales. The Cassville Dispensary is the only source of income for the county in that regard, and officials are still unsure of what that tax will consistently produce. So far, the county received $13,000 in December 2023, which accounted for tax collection in November. Officials are also uncertain going forward if that revenue will be distributed by the state on a monthly or quarterly basis.
“That tax is not earmarked for anything, so it will also be there to help,” Blankenship said.
Funding for Prosecuting Attorney Amy Boxx’s office went up slightly, from $494,735.67 to $519,032. Ennis said that hike was solely the 4 percent increase for staff salaries. Boxx’ office employs two assistant prosecutors and three full-time staff, and another staff position is currently open.
In 2023, the county budgeted $5,607,607.44 for county departments, county government costs, public safety and the emergency fund — 24 total line items.
This year, 18 of those line items saw increases in approved spending compared to 2023, while three saw drops and three remained unchanged. The county also carried over $4.7 million from 2023.
Significant changes for the county were made in capital projects, building and grounds, employee benefits, elections, and rents and leases.
Ennis said the raise in capital project funds, from $2.01 million in 2023 to $2.75 million in 2024, is for items for the jail, like appliances, the county could get cheaper than if it allowed the contractor to purchase them.
The building and grounds budget increased from $227,873 to $318,882 this year, courtesy of federal LATCF Tribal Funds, which were part of the 2022 COVID relief money available to counties who applied and had received American Rescue Plan Act money previously. Barry County received two tranches of LATCF Tribal Funds, one in 2022 and another in 2023, and will not receive any more funds in 2024.
The county’s employee benefits spending went up from $280,766 to $395,206, which Ennis said as the result of a 4 percent health insurance hike, life insurance and Social Security. The county pays 100 percent of its employees health insurance costs.
The elections budget also saw a major hike because of the upcomingPresidentialElection, going from $55,486.38 in 2023 to $112,892.41 this year.
Adjacent to that hike, the office supply budget increased from $78,220 to $144,920, which Ennis said is also due to the coming election.
“Our supply cost for the 2020 presidential election was about $85,000, so I budgeted $100,000 for that in 2024,” Ennis said.
The rents and leases budget more than doubled for this year, as the county is preparing to request bids for IT management, such as cloud storage, networking, firewalls, email, etc. The county hAd been using MDC, based in Monett, since about 2006, and the company was purchased last year by Cloud IT.
“We thought it was a good time to negotiate a new contract,” Schad said.
In other budget changes, the Barry County MU Extension budget went up nearly $9,000, which will account for the hiring of a part-time youth programs director. The county also passed a 4 percent cost of living raise for all its employees.
Line items going in the opposite direction included the County Commission budget, down from $245,507.66 to $223,568; the juvenile office, down from $165,859 to $160,243; and the Monett TIF, down from $87,000 to zero.
With both Monett TIF 1 and 2 now paid off, County Assessor Sherry Smith said valuations previously included in the TIF have been reverted back to the default assignments.
