Around 2008, county budgets, like many budgets across Ohio, were cut as a response to the Great Recession, Logan County Auditor Michael Yoder said.
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That meant layoffs for the sheriff’s office, Logan County Sheriff Randy Dodds said.
“We’ve never recovered from that,” Dodds said.
The jail has a capacity of about 140 inmates, he said, but after the cuts it held about 70 to 80 inmates with three corrections officers.
But lately, with the heroin epidemic, the jail has been holding many more inmates, he said. At one time it reached nearly 130 inmates, which requires about 5 or 6 corrections officers.
“I’ve had to increase my staffing levels because of safety issues, which causes overtime,” he said. “And a lot of overtime.”
It’s changed how deputies operate, Dodds said.
“We went from a proactive department to a reactive department simply because we just don’t have the staffing,” he said.
The county has since recovered from the recession, Yoder said.
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“The sales tax has gone up dramatically in the last few years, which is great … Overall the economy has just improved in the past few years and we’ve been recipients of that improvement,” he said.
It’s Yoder’s opinion that the county can now afford to hire more deputies.
“It’s a matter of safety as it relates to the sheriff’s office,” he said.
But Yoder said county commissioners have kept budgets flat.
“I believe that many of the counties have increased their budgets since that time, where we’ve pretty much remained flat,” he said.
Logan County commissioners declined to talk to the Springfield News-Sun about the budgets.
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The reason commissioners have kept budgets flat might be because more cash reserves give the county a better bond rating, Yoder said, making it cheaper for the county needs to borrow money.
“I’m not certain that there’s an awful lot of borrowing that needs to be done at this time,” he said.
Commissioners should spend money responsibly, Logan County Resident Kimberly Kerns said, but she’d support a budget increase for the sheriff’s office.
“They’re our No. 1 priority for our community to keep us safe,” she said of deputies.
If the sheriff’s office had more resources, she said it could help to combat the heroin epidemic.
“That’s our safety and we’ve got to get a hold on this heroin thing,” she said.
Dodds believes the staffing situation will get better. He plans to hire a few more corrections officers soon.
“Budgets are tight and money is tight and I think things will get better in time,” he said.
Decisions on the county budget for next year will be made in the coming months.
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