Sheriff’s office warns $5.9M deficit is a projection with 10 days left in fiscal year

EL PASO, Texas – (KFOX14/CBS4) — With 10 days left in the fiscal year, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is projecting it will finish the year with a budget deficit approaching $6 million, driven largely by overtime and jail operating costs as the agency continues to deal with staffing vacancies.

Agenda documents for commissioners court show the sheriff’s office is now projecting a $5.9 million deficit.

The updated budget presentation indicates most overtime budgets have been exceeded as the office works to keep the jails staffed and maintain patrol services.

“If we got to the point of no overtime, I think our services that we are required to provide would become severely hampered,” said Patrick Gailey, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy.

The updated projection is more than $1 million higher than the roughly $4.6 million deficit discussed at commissioners court last week.

The projection is based on spending through Sept. 14, a little more than two weeks before the fiscal year ends.

As of Sept. 14, the presentation shows the sheriff’s office had spent or committed more than 94% of its total budget.

It also shows more than 98% of the salary and benefits budget had already been spent.

Sheriff’s office leaders said staffing vacancies are forcing employees to work overtime.

Gailey said the agency recently graduated 17 new detention officers, but still had 25 vacancies in the jails, along with five employees on military leave.

“We try to maximize the numbers of positions we have available. Unfortunately, probably like every other agency, we’re dealing with lack of quality recruits or people that don’t meet our standard,” Gailey said.

The presentation cautions the figures are projections based on current spending trends, salary costs and operating expenses.

County commissioners also formally mandated Sheriff Oscar Ugarte attend the discussion after he missed the last meeting.

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