The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office recently overshot its personnel budget by an eye-popping $3.9 million, but it’s not because of extravagant new programs or expensive equipment. Instead, the overage is being blamed on a very familiar culprit – a lack of staff, combined with soaring overtime costs that’s been needed to fill in those gaps.
In a budget year that was supposed to be balanced, the Sheriff’s Office overrun stood out. Guilford County adopted its $847.3 million general fund budget for fiscal 2025 – 2026, but that balance came only after some significant internal budget maneuvering to balance the 2024-2025 budget – and a big part of that juggling act was caused by overtime pay in the Sheriff’s Office.
The shortfall wasn’t exactly a surprise. As anyone who regularly reads the Rhino Times knows, the Sheriff’s Office has been struggling to recruit and retain deputies and detention officers for years – and the problem has grown worse as other agencies in nearby cities and counties have raised starting pay and improved benefits…