NATCHEZ — The cost of keeping the streets safe has gone up with crime, Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield said.

But computers and office positions have been the costliest change at the sheriff’s office.

Since 2007, the cost of operating the Adams County Sheriff’s Office has increased annually, and the biggest jump occurred in last year’s bill.

The sheriff’s office spent $2.49 million on administration in the 2009-2010 fiscal year, which started Oct. 1, 2009, and ended Sept. 30, 2010.

Administration costs include salaries, office equipment and supplies, car maintenance, gas, jail supplies, uniforms and more.

Those expenses increased by $293,000 or 13.3 percent from the 2008-2009 fiscal year’s expenses of $2.2 million.

Expenses in 2008-2009 fiscal year increased by $21,000 up from the 2007-2008 fiscal year’s $2.18 million, and expenses in 2008 increased by approximately $30,000 up from 2007’s $2.15 million.

The sheriff’s office spent $344,000 more of taxpayer dollars in the 2009-2010 fiscal year on administrative fees than it did four years ago.

Growing expenses

The administration at the sheriff’s office experienced rapid, unplanned changes in 2009, with the death of Sheriff Ronny Brown in March 2009. Brown’s wife, Angie served as interim sheriff for nine months from March 2009 until Mayfield was sworn in Dec. 4, 2009.

It was during the period of transition, when Angie Brown was leading the department, that a new computer system was purchased, contributing to a large portion of the budget increase, Mayfield said.

The nearly $300,000 increase from 2009 to 2010 was spent mostly on the new computer system, clerical personnel, a category called “other contractual services” and vehicle equipment, according to budget records.

Noteworthy budget increases include:

4 $122,000 spent in the “computer/electronic data processing/data processing services” category mostly on a new computer system in the 2009-2010 fiscal year. The average spent in the same category from the 2006-2007 to 2008-2009 fiscal years was $1,400.

Mayfield said the new computer system should streamline data to allow inmate history, processing data, warrants and data from the Natchez Police Department to be located in one place.

The system should also connect to the national databases for criminal history of every inmate booked at the Adams County jail.

Mayfield said the new system is not yet totally online, and the office has experienced some problems with it.

4 $101,000 spent on “other contractual services” for a variety of things, including computer maintenance on the new system in 2009-2010. An average of $14,000 was spent in the same category from 2007-2009.

Mayfield said he was not sure which types of services are considered “other contractual services” and directed questions on the subject to Administrative Assistant Maj. Debbie Gee.

Gee said the cost increase for “other contractual services” in the 2009-2010 fiscal year is partially due to the cost of maintenance of the new computer system, which is contracted out from the vendor.

Other contractual services also include everyday administrative maintenance costs, such as copy machine and elevator maintenance.

4 $120,000 spent in the “clerical” category on office personnel in 2009-2010, a 107-percent increase over the previous year’s expenditures of $57,821.

The average spent on clerical costs from 2007 to 2009 was $65,958.

Costs increased in the clerical category as office positions were added.

Gee said four clerical employees worked in the office most of the 2009-2010 fiscal year, but the office is currently down to three clerical employees.

4 $21,000 spent in the “other mobile equipment under $5,000” category in 2010. In the 2008-2009 year only $574 was spent in this category, and the 2007-2009 average was $1,179.

Gee said the $21,000 spent in 2010 most likely refers to radio systems and police lights used in deputy vehicles.

Gee said four new cars were purchased in 2010, and vehicle equipment was bought for the new cars and to replace old systems.

4 Uniform costs went up 30 percent in the 2009-2010 year, costing $27,906.

The average uniform cost from 2007-2009 was $20,238.

4The retirement budget increased 4.2 percent in the 2009-2010 budget, from $137,463 the previous year to $142.261.

That number has steadily increased each year. The 2009-2010 retirement budget was 27 percent higher than the 2006-2007 budget.

Under-budget

Although the sheriff’s office spent more than $300,000 in the 2009-2010 fiscal year than it did in 2008-2009, the expenditures in the most recent year were under budget.

The 2009-2010 budget was 18 percent higher than the previous year’s budget.

The sheriff’s office 2009-2010 fiscal year budget was $2.72 million, but only $2.49 million was spent.

Mayfield said he was not allotted any money to cope with the administration transition, which was a challenge, but he made do with the funds he had.

“We used what we had and were able to come in under budget,” Mayfield said.

Cost cutting ideas

Mayfield said he has some ideas for cutting costs further.

The sheriff said he would like to contract out health insurance, because the cost keeps rising and contracting out health insurance would relieve the county of liability.

The sheriff’s office spent $173,143 on group insurance in 2010, which was a 14-percent increase over the previous year and a nearly 30-percent increase over 2007.

Food service is another area the sheriff sees opportunity to save, he said.

Contracting out food service would streamline the system and absorb any liabilities or regulations from the U.S. Department of Health.

The sheriff’s office spent approximately $144,000 on food services for prisoners in 2010, which is similar to recent years but a cost that continues to increase slightly each year.

Mayfield said the 2011 budget has also cut down on travel, which should save the county money in the future.

Adams County Board of Supervisors President Darryl Grennell said the sheriff’s office budget is run more autonomously than most departments, due to the nature and size of the pubic safety department.

He said the supervisors who led before him and the current board tends to only be involved in the sheriff’s budget when the budgets are drawn up the late summer and September.

Grennell said it makes sense to allow the department to handle its own budget, for the most part, because of the importance of public safety.

“Some things you can cut back on, but the bulk is a bunch of necessities,” Grennell said.

Approximately 90- to 95-percent of the sheriff’s office budget is for necessities, Grennell estimated.

The sheriff’s office employs approximately 28 deputies, three administrative positions, 12 jailers, four road crew positions and other positions such as bailiffs and prisoner transport officers, Adams County Jail Administrator Maj. Charles Harrigill said.

Approximately $881,000 was spent on deputy salaries in the 2009-2010 fiscal year, down 1.7 percent from the previous year.

Deputy salaries cost $896,000 in the 2008-2009 fiscal year, $790,000 in the 2007-2008 fiscal year and $761,000 in the 2006-2007 fiscal year.