|
|
| Sheriff’s Department trims budget |
| By statesmanexaminer.com |
| Published: 05/18/2011 |
|
Changes to schedule benefit department When Stevens County Sheriff Kendle Allen took office last November, he said he was very aware of his campaign promise to trim back the department’s budget. He started exploring ways to do so once the oath of office had been administered. “When I was running for sheriff, I talked about how we could save money by making schedule changes or other methods and we have done just that,” said Allen, who was elected to fill the vacancy created when long-time Sheriff Craig Thayer accepted a job with the U.S. Marshalls’ Service last summer. Allen, who spoke at the May 10 Colville Chamber of Commerce meeting, said he discovered that overtime hours were being built into the schedules for the Stevens County jail and dispatch areas and by rewriting those schedules, the department was able to save $32,000 and $16,000 respectively. The department also examined their food service in the jail. The full-time cook was leaving to accept a position in the Stevens County Auditor’s office and the department decided to explore possible options. “We determined our full-time cook position, with benefits, cost around $32,000 a year,” said Allen. “Since our cook was leaving, we took the opportunity to see what options were available and we decided to start getting pre-made meals from Correctional Industries.” Correctional Industries is a division of the Washington Department of Corrections where inmates at locations like the Airway Heights prison produce a variety of products as part of their time in jail. Pre-made meals The products, which include pre-made meals and office furniture, are then available to government agencies at competitive rates. “The pre-packaged meals are much like what we already provide with a cold breakfast, hot lunch and cold dinner,” Allen explained. “The meals will cost us around $5.25 a day to feed inmates instead of $7 to $8, creating a $50,000 a year savings.” These cost saving measures have helped the Sheriff’s Department reduce their budget by nearly $100,000. “At budget time, the county was around $232,000 short, so by making changes to scheduling and the jail, along with a few other reductions, we ended up saving the county approximately $150,000. The other departments only had to make up $73,000,” Allen said. However, there is one factor that could stymie the progress made so far—that’s the escalating cost of fuel. Allen said the department budgeted for gas in the $3 range and with prices already over $4, that affects the overall budget. One of the other things Allen said he heard on the campaign trail last year was that Stevens County Deputies were oftentimes not seen in rural areas of the county. Read More. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think