Sheriff’s Office budget compared to JMCSS

JACKSON, Tenn.– For the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the Madison County Sheriff is asking for almost $25 million. That’s a major budget increase from the previous year.

“Oh I mean I expect it, it’s no different from the school budget,” Sheriff Mehr said in a previous interview.

“Over the last five years, the projections on original budgets have increased approximately 5 percent a year, when the schools’ maintenance of effort has been basically flat for the last five years,” Madison County Director of Finance, Mike Nichols, said after analyzing the two budgets.

In fact, the Jackson-Madison County taxpayer’s portion of the school system’s operating budget has only increased $47,000 in the last five years. The Sheriff’s Office’s budget has increased $5 million.

If next year’s Sheriff’s budget looked like the schools, “It would basically be flat from last year, which was $21,300,000,” Nichols said.

Nichols says the Sheriff’s Office’s proposed 17 percent increase is much different from the school’s, which barely requested more county funding.

“They’re asking for an expenditure increase in salary raises of two percent increase,” Nichols said.

Plus, the county’s non-profit budget could be hit. Committee members say it might have to be cut by 12.5 percent. That could leave organizations like the Dream Center without much-needed funds.

“Every dollar that’s given to us that’s requested will be used to help change lives, rebuild them,” said Stephanie Laffoon of the Jackson Dream Center, at the county’s non-profit budget hearing.

County commissioners say they have no plans to raise taxes. Next year’s budget should be approved in coming weeks.