In early April, the Jefferson County Manager’s Office instructed the sheriff to reduce his office’s 2020 budget by 7 percent, which equates to $6.7 million, according to the sheriff’s office.

This cut could force the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to reduce its jail’s capacity by 400 to 600 beds, the sheriff’s office said. It also would eliminate the U.S. Marshal contract for jail beds, which would be a loss of $1.8 million. It’d also keep job vacancies open to reduce personnel costs.

Sheriff Jeff Shrader said it is imperative that the county prioritizes its cuts, instead of pursuing across-the-board cuts. These cuts to the sheriff’s office could have a significant effect on public safety, he said. He explained his concerns to the Board of County Commissioners at an April 23 presentation, and offered to help find a suitable solution to address 2020’s budget deficit in the county, according to the sheriff’s office.

At the start of 2019, Jefferson County also implemented a new policy that charges termination pay-outs back to the affected department, while taking vacancy savings from that department. This has resulted in an additional impact of $1.3 million to the sheriff’s office budget.

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