Sheriff to cut patrols

FRANKLIN COUNTY - High gas prices and the rising cost of operating the department is forcing the Franklin County Sheriff's Office to suspend around-the-clock patrols.

Franklin Sheriff Larry Plott said during a news conference Wednesday that his department lost three deputies to budget cuts last year and could lose one more this year. With fewer employees and an increasing workload, the department exceeded its overtime budget in the fiscal year that ended Tuesday. To avoid excessive overtime this year, Plott said he will reduce patrols.

"It's not something we want to do, but there's no way around it," Plott said. "With the number of people we have, there's no way to stay on budget and run 24-7. To keep from having too much overtime, there's going to be times when nobody's going to be on patrol in the county. We will have people on call, but they will not be out patrolling the county."

The department has 11 deputies assigned to patrolling the county, serving court documents and performing other duties. With one deputy on military leave and another on medical leave, Plott said it's difficult to provide around-the-clock patrols without having to pay overtime.

He sees no way to avoid cutting back on patrols, he said.

"People just need to be aware there may be times when they call for a deputy that instead of taking 10 or 15 minutes for them to get there, it could take an hour or more," Plott said.

He declined to reveal the times when deputies will not be on patrol duty or when the cutbacks might begin.

"I'm afraid if people know when we don't have anybody working, it's going to be open range for the criminals."

Plott plans to meet with county commissioners today to discuss shifting money from the jail budget to the sheriff's office to avoid having to lay off a deputy.

Even if commissioners approve the money transfer, Plott said it will not solve the staffing woes.

"There will still be periods when we won't have deputies on patrol, but it will not be as bad if we are able to" transfer the funds.

Commissioner Jackie Bradford said the commission was not picking on the sheriff's office when it cut its budget for the fiscal year that began Wednesday. He said commissioners cut the budgets of other departments, too.

With expenses rising faster than revenue, Bradford said commissioners were forced to reduce spending.

Bradford, who will be out of town and unable to attend today's meeting to discuss amending the county budget, opposes shifting money from the jail to the sheriff's office.

"I don't think we should be amending the budget on the second day of the budget year," Bradford said. "We need to let the new commissioners decide if they want to make the changes the sheriff is asking for.

"They are the ones who are going to have to live with the budget for 11 months. We have to live with it for only one month."

Dennis Sherer can be reached at 740-5746 or dennis.sherer@TimesDaily.com.