Summit County Sheriff Kacey Bates wants to add two full-time detectives next year to bolster the department’s investigative capabilities, which she said is necessary as the county sees an increase in “complicated” cases. “In 2025, we had about 490 cases,” Bates told the Summit County C ouncil on Wednesday. “We’re looking at 600 this year. Each case takes around 20 hours, and that’s an average number to complete.” County officials have proposed a $109 million budget for 2027, which is a $6.8 million increase. Property owners will not see a tax increase, however, and County Chief Finance Officer Matt Leavitt said approximately 60% of the budget is for personnel. The county’s overall budget includes funds for one new part-time position and 14 new full-time positions, four of which are in the Sheriff’s Office. Bates said the two detective positions — one to handle juvenile crimes and a second to handle adult crimes — are key to the department’s operations as an increase in summer tourism has eliminated the historically slower shoulder season. “In the news lately, we’ve had some pretty high-profile cases,” Bates added. “When we have that happen, that’s all hands on deck, and we only have five detectives right now.” Bates said investigations have also become more complicated as technology evolves. She cited frequent scam calls and texts as an example, telling the Summit County Council that the Sheriff’s Office is now tracking each reported fraud attempt. County Councilor Megan McKenna asked if the rise in cases indicated an overall increase in Summit County’s crime rate, but Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson said her office has started tracking defendants’ addresses. Based on the data, she said, a high number of incidents involve out-of-state and out-of-county visitors. Bates said the heavier caseload has impacted employees’ ability to take time off, with detectives often called to investigate a time-sensitive incident while on vacation. “The cases that aren’t as critical are put on the back burner, and that’s not OK with me,” she said. “We owe our citizens to get a case, take care of it and give them answers. We need more manpower behind that to do that correctly and efficiently.” The other positions created for the Sheriff’s Office next year are a K-9 patrol sergeant and a school resource officer for the Winter Sports School. The Winter Sports School will pay for 50% of the school resource officer’s salary and benefits, with the county covering the remainder. Bates said the Sheriff’s Office only needs to fill one more school resource officer position at the Weilenmann School of Discovery to comply with new state requirements. The County Council supported the new Sheriff’s Office positions, as well as a maintenance technician position that will be assigned to the 910 Cattle Ranch. County Manager Shayne Scott said the technician will help the Lands and Natural Resources Department maintain the almost 9,000-acre property, which is expected to open to the public next year. “In the past, (the department) may have been asking for something to happen on the 910, and facilities would get to it when they could, and that hasn’t always been ideal,” Scott said. “This person would be there and dedicated to the Lands and Natural Resources Department.” County Council Vice Chair Roger Armstrong said he was nervous about the long-term staffing strategy on the 910 Cattle Ranch and encouraged county officials to be proactive. “With the amount of attention that’s going to be focused on that place, if it gets away from us, I just don’t want to be trying to play catch-up,” Armstrong said. “I need all of you to be forward-thinking about it. I need you to come up with a staffing plan for the 910 Ranch between now and even two years from now that shows us that we’re staffing accordingly.” Scott said he believed the proposed maintenance position is “appropriate” for now, although he said he may approach the County Council with a budget amendment to hire additional workers on the 910 Ranch halfway through 2027. Other positions in the proposed 2027 budget include a housing and economic development coordinator, commercial appraiser, treasurer, Motor Vehicle Division technician, communications specialist, building inspector, administration services director, IT specialist, library deputy director and owner’s representative. The owner’s representative would represent the county and its interests in conversations with High Valley Transit and Six Ridge Partners as Altus Park City, formerly known as the Dakota Pacific project, begins construction. The part-time position is for a senior services navigator, who will help seniors find and connect with resources in Summit County. The post Summit County Sheriff’s Office asks for more detectives as caseloads increase appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less