The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office overestimated the amount of money it would have to start this year by more than $2 million, the latest obstacle facing an agency whose budget reserves have consistently declined since the end of 2020, according to county records.

In an email to sheriff’s office leadership, business manager Joe Brundage attributed the discrepancy to a change in county payroll procedures and the delivery of several pre-ordered vehicles, which required earlier payments than anticipated. But Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Chang said: “I’m deeply concerned that they so grossly overestimated the beginning fund balance this year.”

“The Sheriff’s office is now going to need to squeeze on their expenditures in all kinds of ways to make their budget balanced for the year,” he said. He called the discrepancy “a pretty dramatic difference” and added “I’m concerned about the impact that that’s going to have on the sheriff’s office over the course of this fiscal year.”

Those expenditures are receiving growing attention due to the recent publishing of an anonymous satire website about the sheriff’s office. Called “DCSO Follies,” its creators claim — without presenting evidence — to be receiving information from sheriff’s office employees and are publishing this information online, criticizing its leadership.

$3K slushy machine

The Bulletin was seeking public records about a variety of sheriff’s office purchases before the website creators began publishing this information online. The Bulletin could not confirm many of its allegations.

But public records and questions posed to the sheriff’s office confirmed the following:

• The sheriff’s office in May ordered a $3,115 slushy machine and attached it to golf carts that officials drove around county events such as the Deschutes County Fair and Sisters Rodeo. In 2023, it bought five golf carts. With attachments, they cost more than $37,700. Sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Wall said it was partly a community outreach effort but also helps improve emergency response times during major events.

• The sheriff’s office has paid more than $5,100 to the company Whoop, which makes fitness trackers worn on the wrist, and about $800 per month for fruit bowls for staff. Wall said this is part of its efforts to improve the health of employees.

• The sheriff’s office inked a $9,000 contract with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department to pay employees to patrol La Pine State Park on overtime over the summer. Of that, it used $6,000. When a lieutenant — who has a base salary of more than $125,000 — couldn’t find sergeants or deputies to cover the shifts, he sometimes filled them himself. The sheriff’s office is renewing the contract, this time for $20,000.

• The sheriff’s office has a program in its jail that allows all employees to get a free meal. The program, which provides 30 meals a day, costs more than $60,000 per year. It is mostly used by jail employees who cannot leave the facility, Wall said. “It is not intended as a free for all,” he said.

• Annual overtime spending among sworn officers has increased by more than $947,000 since 2019, climbing to $2,382,853 last year. Two deputies in the corrections division made more than $70,000 in overtime in the last fiscal year, while a third made over $50,000, making them three of the county’s 20 highest paid employees, according to county payroll data. Among lieutenants, overtime pay has increased more than fourfold since 2019, up to $137,983 last year alone.

Wall explained that nearly 40% of the office’s overtime budget came from officer training, while much of the remaining spending went to officers investigating major incidents, attending court on days off, special events and more. He added in an email: “we anticipate a 7% annual increase in overtime due to salary increases to include Cost of Living Adjustments.”

The sheriff’s office nonpersonnel expenditures do not appear to be unusual. In fiscal year 2022-2023, it spent $9,560,955. By comparison, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, which patrols an area with fewer people, spent $9,775,839.

Website gets attention

But the website’s statements have garnered attention quickly. Sheriff’s Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp, who is running for sheriff and has spoken out against the office’s “runaway spending,” announced on his campaign website on Nov. 3 that he had “no control over, involvement with, or responsibility for the content published on this satire website.”

Reached by phone, he declined to comment further.

The Bulletin contacted the website’s creators, who declined to be interviewed. Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson was not available for an interview Monday but said in a statement last week that the website’s posts were “misleading, hurtful, and inaccurate content.”

Ben Smith, a former sheriff’s office supervisor and 14-year employee who ran daily operations in the Deschutes County jail, had a different take when he saw the website.

“I was like, holy crap, these guys are spot on,” said Smith, who resigned in spring 2022.

Smith said many employees over the years have been “pissed off and angry” about the sheriff’s office’s “wasteful spending.”

During his time there, he said, it wasn’t uncommon for lieutenants to scam overtime and for the sheriff’s office to make ambitious but poorly thought out purchases. Among them: expensive rifles that didn’t work; patrol cars for every deputy; spike strip launchers that were seldom used.

Of Nelson, Smith added: “He’s very much a ‘boys with their toys’ kind of guy. If he sees something shiny, he buys it.”

Declining reserves

Previously, the sheriff’s office budget reserves increased from $14.873 million at the beginning of 2019 to $18.8 million at the end of 2020.

Since then, it has declined every year, falling to $13.117 million at the end of 2023.

In May, the sheriff’s office asked the county to increase its assessed tax rates for the two districts supporting its office to the maximum level.

Leadership argued before the County Commission that a number of unforeseen changes necessitated this increase, including inflation, changes to state laws around drugs and firearms, increased tourism and policing amid statewide crises around fentanyl, mental health and homelessness.

The commission approved this request, raising taxes for residents of one district by 17 cents, up to $1.25 per $1,000 of assessed property value, and by 12 cents in another, up to $1.55.

In interviews, Commissioners Patti Adair and Tony DeBone voiced confidence in the sheriff’s office leadership and its financial decisions.

DeBone acknowledged that he hadn’t yet looked extensively at the discrepancy. Adair added that, if the sheriff’s office funds were still off at a later date, she would take a closer look.

“I believe they try and do a good job,” said Adair.

Robert Tintle, chief financial officer for Deschutes County, said a funding inconsistency of this nature is “common.”

Smith, the former department employee, argued that being $2 million off should merit an audit.

Chang wouldn’t go that far.

“I don’t know if it necessitates an audit,” he said. “But I would like an explanation for why their forecast was so far off.”

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This article has been updated with new information. After the story was published, documents reviewed by The Bulletin showed the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office bought more golf carts and spent more money than the agency had disclosed to a reporter. A Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office spokesman apologized for providing incomplete information but said he did not intend to be misleading.