With finances tight for states, counties and municipalities throughout Nevada, governments are struggling to trim the fat in order make ends meet in the coming fiscal year.

One such area being cut by many is that of overtime. But what is seen by many as an unnecessary aspect is considered by Sheriff Dale Lotspeich to be a very necessary element employed by the Elko County Sheriff’s Office.

During the 2009 fiscal year, the sheriff’s office spent $247,227 in overtime, which is 198 percent above the budgeted $125,000 approved by the Elko County Commission. In 2008, the amount was $391,795.50 — 313 percent above the budgeted $125,000.

And for the current fiscal year, $117,452.94 has been paid in overtime, which is 78 percent above the approved $150,000, which is $25,000 more than what was budgeted in the previous years.

While overtime is a factor in the sheriff’s office budget, “we’ve looked at several ways to get more bang for our buck in regards to personnel,” Lotspeich said. “Working eight hour shifts is the most efficient way to run things. When I first came in I looked at how we were staffed throughout the department. I set minimum staffing requirements for shifts.”

A prior method of running shifts was with 16 people having five on each shift and giving one extra to swing shift. Lotspeich said his office conducted studies to see what was most efficient.

“Some was historical knowledge,” Lotspeich said. “I worked at that time more than 25 years so I took that experience and worked with our supervisors. We looked at areas and shifts. We also looked at calls and then established three deputies per shift. With days off, time off for training and vacations you automatically have 20 to 25 percent of your shift gone.

“The administration can move personnel from the road side to the jail side and vice-versa to cover a shift. But, we might have something we need to deploy extra resources for that puts us beyond that capability.”

Overtime can be impacted by unexpected events and sick leave. In 2007 and 2008, there were two major events, which were the major wildland fires and the Wells Earthquake according to Lotspeich. Maintaining mandatory training and Peace Officer Standards Training also adds to overtime.

“When I was sworn in, we had five people not POST certified in our department,” Lotspeich said. “Some had been working for six months. We have 12 to get them into POST. We can ask for a waiver for an additional six months. When I called, I was told we would not have the ability to get them in before the time frame ran out.”

So, the sheriff’s office organized a police academy.

There were several other departments in the area who wanted to participate as well. In order to run that, it took overtime. There is overtime at POST right now with the cadets. Lotspeich said they’re doing between 40 and 80 hours on overtime depending on how the calendar is set up. The back-fill overtime was required to fill their shifts when they were gone.

“We’ve been told there were times that until we could get somebody in from home, the only person in the jail was the person in the control room,” Lotspeich said. “There was nobody on the floor because somebody had to go with an inmate to the hospital. That’s not acceptable. When you’re responsible for over a hundred people and they’re livelihood and welfare and something happens all the liability in that case falls on me and the county commission.”

Lotspeich looked at services offered by a group called Match Force, which is like a temp agency for law enforcement and public safety. People were recruited who were certified officers who were typically retired, but had no ties to any other agency. They could be brought in to cover shifts, but Lotspeich said that’s a violation of the deputy sheriffs’ contracts. At that point the only option was to terminate that idea. The Match Force would’ve cost $32 per hour, but deputies in overtime cost upward of $50 an hour.

“We have two budgets that I’m responsible for,” Lotspeich said. “The county commission by statute is responsible for running the jail. Technically they could hire a jail administrator who would answer to no one but them. The statute also permits the sheriff of the county to operate the jail. That’s why the sheriff’s office and jail have been combined.”

The sheriff’s side makes up 65 percent of the overall budget. But even with the concerns about overtime, the sheriff’s budget has been balanced the past few years under Lotspeich. Records for the 2008 and 2009 fiscal years each ended with no overages for the combined sheriff’s office budget.

In both the 2008 and 2009 fiscal years, the law enforcement side of the office was slightly over, whereas the jail side of the budget was slightly under, thus counteracting any overage. For the 2010 fiscal year, both the law enforcement and jail sides are on track to be both slightly under or at the budgeted amount — providing there are no extenuating circumstances such as major wildland fires and earthquakes.

“If the goal is to reduce overtime, you can do that. However, you can’t just have that as a goal,” said Undersheriff Doug Gailey. “You have public safety and deputy safety, and you have to balance those together. You can have one person in the jail, but you have liability and safety.”

“Before (Lotspeich) was sheriff there were times when I worked the street when I was the only deputy in the Elko district,” Gailey said. “Which means if I make a traffic stop and someone decides they want to beat me up, there’s no back-up. The bottom line is they’re not going to come until I call them. If it’s a 20 minute drive I’m going to have to get my butt kicked for 20 minutes providing I can last that long.”

Lotspeich said in 1982, he was a patrol deputy and had made a traffic stop on a couple for suspected DUI. The wife was allegedly driving drunk, but both she and her husband ended up attacking Lotspeich.

“I was able to call, but I didn’t know how long it would be,” Lotspeich said. “I had to fight them until I got my mace out and maced them, but they took off and drove again. My shirt was ripped, my glasses were broken and I had lumps and bruises. At one point I almost lost my gun. And this happened in Elko.”

The territory the sheriff’s office has to cover adds to the pressures of overtime. Lotspeich said the Elko district is a 2,000 square mile response area. Gailey said the Elko district geographically is from River Ranch to the Lander County line and from Jiggs up to Lone Mountain Station on Mountain City Highway. The Wells district is River Ranch up to the Thousand Springs latitude, down to White Pine County and over to the Utah border. Jackpot covers Jarbidge down to Thousand Springs, over to Utah and up to the Idaho border.

“We would love to have a formal agreement with the highway patrol and the city. The city has never hesitated, but it’s easier to call out a deputy in Spring Creek to get there if it’s in Spring Creek because it’s faster,” Lotspeich said. “Highway Patrol backs us up all the time, but if they’re tied up they’re not available either.”

Lotspeich said with the state budget crunch things could get worse. Lotspeich said he hopes to be able to start the process of hiring two more deputies to cover the overtime starting July 1. The measure awaits approval by the county commission, as it was submitted to them Friday as part of the proposed 2011 budget.

Elko County Sheriff Dale Lotspeich is pleased to announce the 1st annual Tip A Cop fundraiser at Muley's Bar and Family Grill in Spring Creek. It will occur on Friday, April 2, 2010 from 11:00 to 2:00 pm and from 5:00 to 9:00 pm. Your local deputies, officers and others will be working with the Muley's staff to collect tips and donations to benefit Special Olympics of Elko County. The money raised will go to send the special olympians to compete at the state, regional, national and international levels. Come support a great cause!