Budget process flaw creates funding problems for MCSO

Sheriff Stan Hilkey says an accounting strategy used to determine budgets at every Mesa County Agency is flawed.

As a result he says the Sheriff's Office is struggling to find enough to pay for day-to-day operations.

County commissioners consider salary savings when approving budgets.  Those savings come from open positions not being filled. But Sheriff Hilkey says the way the numbers are found is flawed and the results are inflated.

His agency is starting off the year with a nearly $600,000 deficit.

When you're talking about a budget that's $21 million dollars that might not seem like a lot, but the Sheriff's Office is already strapped for cash.

“What we are really hoping to do now is just get a budget that is real, that doesn't start us off in a hole so that we are trying to crawl out of that whole all year long,” Sheriff Hilkey said. “I think it’s possible.”

Sheriff Hilkey says he's receiving encouragement from the board of commissioners.

They taken an interest in this issue and have been talking with the Sheriff's Office about ways to overcome it.

Sheriff Hilkey says despite a smaller budget, his agency is working hard to avoid cuts in services to the community.