Wed
May 29 2013
07:36 am

I would be curious to see the historical budget for the Sheriff's Department over the last ten years. For a County with a population that has remained essentially static for the last two decades we sure do seem to be spending more and more on jails and things.

And why does the County Commission not blink at granting the Sheriff and additional $180,000 over its budget while it goes all apoplectic when the School Board asks for less than a third of that amount? Where are our priorities?

(link...)

Population

Roane County population as of the 1990 census: 47,227 ((link...)).

As of 2010: 54,181 ((link...)).

This is an increase of 14.7% in only 20 years.

I would not call this "static."

-- OneTahiti

Depends on the years you pick

In 1984 Roane County had 49,078. 1990 and 2010 were high points on the population curve. We have lost population since the 2010 census and the most recent estimate for 2012 is 53,469. That's 8.94% over 28 years, which is .39% growth per year on average. Compare that to Loudon County which had a 75% increase in population in that same period. We have created plenty of jobs for people during that time frame it's just that we're paying for the industrial park in Roane County for people who live in Loudon and Knox counties to have jobs in.

Budgets and actual expenses from 2004-05 on

Are all here (link...)

2004-05 is here

(link...)

See F-1 and G-8

However, what you really want to see are the "Letters of Agreement" for all these years to understand any Sheriffs Dept personnel budget.

That's good info. Thanks,

That's good info. Thanks, Mello.

Just be sure to compare apples to apples-

It is really tricky to try to look simply at a ten year history comparison. Besides "Sheriff's Dept" and "Jail" there will be other budget lines that really are within what anyone would think of as "Sheriff and Jails" budget lines but on different accounting lines. Drug fund and court officers are just two that come to mind......

A study needs to be

A study needs to be conducted, but Metro or County/City agreements may save money and better allocate resources.

The Commission should have aggressively explored ankle bracelets and continually be evaluating facility and capital needs, not just when issues reach critical mass.

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