GROVETON — County departments came to the first of many budget workshops for help with funding, and none more so than the Sheriff’s Office.
At a special session of the Trinity County Commissioners Court on July 7, Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Michael King told the court that the Sheriff’s Office is running completely underfunded in certain areas, and that hampers their mission to “deter, detect, protect and act.”
The funds amount to $35,000, which has impacted vehicle parts and repairs, emergency communications, reliability, equipment maintenance, maintenance and service contracts, tires and tubes, and miscellaneous operational expenses.
“These accounts directly support patrol operations, emergency communications, fleet readiness, and mission essential equipment,” King said. “During FY25 to 26, several of these accounts exceeded their adopted appropriations, while others reached more than 90 percent utilization before the close of the fiscal year. These requested increases are intended to establish realistic operating budgets that reduce the need for mid-year budget amendments while maintaining dependable law enforcement services.”
He said the Sheriff's Office remains committed to identifying efficiencies and utilizing available grant funding for equipment and specialized programs wherever legally authorized.
“This request is limited to general fund operational accounts that have demonstrated recurring funding deficiency through actual expenditure history,” he said.
Commissioner Tommy Park pointed out that there will absolutely have to be some cuts in the county budget as the county is approximately $600,000 underwater because of several factors, including budgets figured on the wrong tax collection percentage, past-due tax collection revenue being added twice, and shortfalls in the Sheriff’s Office.
Commissioner Neal Smith pointed out that there needs to be serious discussion about the county jail, and whether shutting it would help with the budget.
In his presentation, though, King warned that looking for cost savings through measures such as closing the jail would have a detrimental effect on their services. He also asked that the cost of housing inmates in other jails be removed from the Sheriff’s Office budget and put into non-departmental fund.
Other departments, such as the four Justices of the Peace, asked for full-time employees as the workload has increased. District Clerk Jillian Steptoe asked for a part-time position to be made full-time as the amount of work being done justifies it. She said that the revenues generated by her office more than make up for the expense.
County constables asked for increases in gas budgets.
County Auditor Lenzy Hargrave said that the new budget will be based on 93 percent collection rate for property taxes; Smith said that in the previous two years, the former auditor had done budgets based on 99 percent collection, which was incorrect based on historical figures. By doing that, it means that the county will have less money to create its budget.
In other business, the county:
