The county board has funded one additional patrol deputy for the sheriff’s office, the first patrol position added since 2019. The job is dedicated to township coverage, where response times in the coulees have stretched longest, and will be filled from the current eligibility list rather than a new hiring round.
The sheriff’s office has said the position addresses gaps in rural coverage that supervisors from the western townships have raised for several budget cycles. The deputy is expected to be on the road before the end of the year. The cost carries into 2027 budget talks, which begin with the finance committee’s first pass the last week of August.