SCOTTSBURG, Ind. — Scott County Sheriff Jerry Goodin posted a video on Facebook Friday addressing why his office may be forced to remove School Resource Officers (SROs) from some of the county schools.
"We are in a critical shortage of manpower here at the Sheriff's Office," Goodin said.
Goodin said deputies are leaving the county to work for other departments in Indiana that are offering thousands more dollars in wages.
"We trained them, we hired them, and they come and give them a huge pay increase and steal them from us," he said.
In the video, Goodin called on the Scott County Council to approve his proposed budget for the sheriff's office.
Scott County Council President Lyndi Hughbanks told WHAS11 News that the county does not have the money to sustain the sheriff's proposed budget, saying Scott County brings in just over $9 million annually and the total of all the county departments' proposed budgets totals more than $11 million.
"Counties all across Indiana are in the same predicament, they're losing people – and it's not just officers – to the state, to other agencies that can pay more. We just cannot sustain that," Hughbanks said.
According to Hughbanks, SROs are funded through the end of 2023 and in the budget to be funded in 2024.
"We are not choosing to defund the resource officers in any way, shape, or form," she said.
Hughbanks said even with a $2 million cut within a balanced budget, the council was still able to give a 5% increase in wages to the county departments.
But for some departments, that may not be enough.
"When you're backed into a corner, and have no other option, I don't know what else to do. I love the people who work for me and I’ll stand behind the people who work for me," Goodin said.
Hughbanks said consulting firm Baker Tilly confirmed to the council in the budget workshops at the end of Sept. that the sheriff's proposed budget as it is now would be sustainable.
"If the sheriff's department fails, the county fails. I don't want to see the sheriff's department fail. But as the council, we cannot just look at the sheriff's department, if any of our departments fail, the county fails," said Hughbanks.
Any approved budget for the sheriff's department will not impact the wages of Sheriff Goodin, as his salary is set by the state.
The Scott County Council is set to meet Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Scott County Courthouse. The Public Budget Hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
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