It is the budgeting time of year for many governmental entities and the Carroll County Board of Supervisors has been discussing funding for non-profits and county departments to develop theirs for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. At the last meeting, they received a quarterly report and budget estimate from Carroll County Sheriff, Ken Pingrey. He says staffing changes will alter his budget for the next year as he is requesting the addition of a new law enforcement officer.
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Pingrey says the request is backed by statistical data from other counties in Iowa.
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The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office has nine deputies, the same number they have had for the past 23 years. Supervisor, Gene Meiners, stressed the county has two fewer deputies on staff than the lowest populated county in that comparison. Pingrey adds their responsibilities have increased as well.
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Earlier this month, Carroll Police Chief, Brad Burke, reported an increase in mental health calls from 13 in 2018 to 44 last year. Pingrey adds that eventually, those interventions tend to end up under the charge of the Sheriff’s Office.
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Pingrey says he could keep one deputy busy non-stop doing drug investigations and he doesn’t see that activity going down. “Every time we catch somebody,” he says, “there is somebody else to take their place.” Grant opportunities are available that could help cover the salary of a deputy for several years, but no action was taken by the supervisors. However, the subject will be brought back again later in the process. The deadline to file the budget is March 15.