Lowell disagrees with figures

A media release sent from the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday evening disagrees with claims made by the Sweetwater County Commissioners.

During their meeting Tuesday, the commissioners claimed the sheriff’s office was over budget by approximately $291,000 this year. However, Sheriff Mike Lowell disagrees with the commissioners’ assessment, saying the amount the office will be over budget is much less than what the commissioners claim.

“There are many factors that come into play in a budget assessment such as this,” Lowell said, “and there is a great deal here that may have been overlooked or misinterpreted. For instance, for the one-time holiday bonus the Commission authorized last year, the sheriff’s office budget was charged over $92,000 to cover Sheriff’s Office employees and, in addition, apparently not taken into account was the $103,000 for additional sheriff’s office positions already approved by the Commission, all based on payroll figures.”

Lowell said the $103,000 in positions only addresses the raw salaries.

“Funding positions extends well beyond simple salaries,” Lowell said. “You have to deal also with adjunct factors such as benefits, insurance, retirement, and a host of other factors and those must be paid for. At the end of the day, our benefits package equals nearly half the salary figure for many positions.”

“This situation extends all the way back to last year’s severe budget cuts,” Lowell said. “And looming just over the horizon is the upcoming opening of the nearly-completed Sweetwater County Justice Complex and the responsibilities we will be assuming for its security. As I pointed out in May of 2017, ‘The responsibility for providing safety and security for the entire operation lies solely with the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office, and I simply will not be able to provide that safety and security at a reduced budget level.’”

Lowell said he and the staff at the sheriff’s office are working to resolve the situation with the commissions.

“Sound interpretation of the data and good communication will be key,” Lowell concluded.

 

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