Cuts pose challenges

Significant challenges are on the horizon for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in 2016 with the reduction of two road deputies due to budget cuts, says Sheriff Wade Magers.

The Sheriff’s Office was busy in 2015 investigating and arresting suspects involved in property crime, felony cases and crimes against persons. In 2015, there were 5,417 calls for service throughout Lincoln County. Sheriff’s Deputies handled 4,663 of those calls, with the balance occurring within town jurisdictions. The month of January had the fewest reported crimes at 319. Summer months are generally busier with significantly more calls, investigations and arrests. August had the most calls for service with 460.

The Sheriff’s Office has had a significant reduction in staff due to recent budget cuts. The result will be greater prioritization of calls for service, which may result in delayed responses for non-emergency calls. Calls for crimes in progress, vehicle collisions and emergency calls will demand a priority response.

The Sheriff’s Office has lost three road deputy positions in the past three years, with two positions being cut from the county budget going into 2016. Sheriff Magers says he has significant concerns regarding the lack of road deputies on staff, which can affect coverage, backup, response times and ultimately public safety as a whole. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office has only 11 road deputies, plus the Chief Criminal Deputy, the Undersheriff and the Sheriff, who all also work the road.

With a county 2,400 square miles in size and the responsibility to respond to calls for service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, shortfalls in services can be expected, says Magers. Response times may be as long as 30 to 40 minutes, even in an emergency due to lack of staffing and coverage. Calls for service are already prioritized. Depending on where a deputy is coming from, it may take a long time to get to the call. The loss of three road deputy positions in three years will significantly impact response capabilities. As employees take vacation, sick leave and/or participate in mandatory training programs, the ability to fill shifts at a minimum staffing level for public safety becomes more difficult. The Sheriff’s Office will have to learn to do more with less, but there will be times when situations are simply outside of the office’s control.

The Sheriff says he will continue to do his best with current staffing levels, with public and officer safety his number-one concerns as his office strives to continue providing excellent customer service.

Significant budget reductions are a result of dwindling sale and property taxes. The cost of employees and supplies increases at a faster rate than the county’s revenue can support. The sales tax rate in Lincoln County is 7.7 percent, while most neighboring counties are at 8.7 percent. Therefore, counties with a higher sales tax and more businesses are able to support their public safety needs. Lincoln County has lost local businesses in the past few years. With an already conservative sales tax compared to neighboring counties, essential staff for providing public safety services are being lost. The Sheriff’s Office must operate within its budget. Due to shrinking revenue sources, public safety is taking a huge hit that we cannot afford in order to provide the service that the public expects. With Lincoln County’s sales tax at only 7.7 percent, visitors come to Lincoln County in the summer and enjoy the lakes and other resources, paying much less than they are accustomed to in their own counties. Several counties on the west side of the state have a sales tax rate in the 10-percent range by comparison.

The Board of County Commissioners may be putting an initiative on the ballot in 2016 for voters to consider increasing Lincoln County’s sales tax to 8 percent, which would bring in additional revenue estimated at $300,000 per year. The increased revenue would be shared between the county and the towns at a 60/40 percentage split as established by the state legislature. The Board of County Commissioners has pledged to use the county’s share of the sales tax for public safety, and to support a drug deputy. This would allow the Sheriff’s Office to be proactive on drug cases as drug dealers and users impact our communities and are often involved in thefts, burglaries, identity theft and related crimes.

Everyone likes lower taxes and government that is efficient, effective and small, which Lincoln County is. It is also important to support local businesses and shop locally whenever possible. By supporting local business owners, families and neighbors, sales taxes remain local and allow local government to provide services that are getting more and more difficult to provide. Public safety needs a lift up in order to protect the citizens it serves and keep deputies safe.