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Administrator Baird announced the proposed Sheriff's budget as $42,010,093, or <br />$1,643,758 less than last year. He stressed that this was the last reduction made in the General <br />Fund, in order to reach the goal set by the Commission, and that there was no science to the <br />figure. He added that the Sheriff had told him that the cut would be an extreme hardship on his <br />organization. <br />Sheriff Deryl Loar presented a videotape highlighting the many roles that the Sheriff's <br />office and staff play within the community. He discussed the correlation between rising <br />unemployment and crime rates, which escalate the need for Sheriff's services and increases <br />costs. He advised that about 85% of his budget goes for Personnel Services, noted that there are <br />currently forty-one staff vacancies, and established that the Department was not asking for pay <br />raises. Sheriff Loar requested that the Board support his 2009/2010 budget request of $42.8 <br />million. <br />Responding to a query from Commissioner Solari, Sheriff Loar clarified that his request <br />was for $43.8 million. <br />Commissioner Solari expressed his appreciation of the Sheriff's organization and <br />acknowledged the difficulty of making the budget cuts; however he was inclined to support <br />staff's proposed budget cut. Referencing an earlier speaker who had discussed her economic <br />difficulties, he voiced that it was the County's job at this time to consider every citizen in the <br />County. <br />Sheriff Loar felt that the budget cuts would occasion lay-offs, which would cause <br />troubles. <br />Responding to Chairman Davis's questions, Sheriff Loar provided a breakdown of the <br />forty-one vacancies within the Sheriff's Department, twenty of which are sworn Deputy Sheriffs <br />in Corrections, and discussed the costs of inmate hospitalizations and pharmaceuticals. <br />July 23, 2009 18 <br />