MANSFIELD — The Richland County Sheriff’s Office has proposed a $22.3 million budget for 2026, up $1.2 million over what was proposed in 2025.
RCSO Maj. Jim Sweat and other sheriff’s office administrators met with the Richland County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday to go over the proposed spending plan, which includes law enforcement, the county jail and the 9-1-1 dispatch center.
It was one of a series of ongoing 2026 general fund budget discussions commissioners are having with elected officials and department heads — with the goal of a finalized budget appropriation in December.
RCSO is requesting about $8.8 million for its law enforcement fund, approximately $12 million for the county jail and about $2.1 million for 9-1-1.
Commissioner Tony Vero said RCSO’s proposed plan accounts for about 43 percent of the $52 million in total requests from county departments for 2026.
Each department submits a proposed budget to commissioners, who are the budgetary authority for the county.
(Below is a PDF of a letter from Richland County Sheriff Steve Sheldon to the Richland County Board of Commissioners related to his 2026 budget request.)
County jail budget
In the sheriff’s proposed 2026 budget, substantial increases sought are in the county jail, more specifically in the equipment and maintenance line items.
The largest request is $550,000 for a major project updating the jail’s kitchen. This estimate includes projections for increased costs for food services while the kitchen would be closed, which Sweat said may be two to three months.
Things like a portable kitchen, dishwasher, cold storage and reusable eating and drinking ware would need to be brought in while the project is taking place, he said.
The kitchen project would include new flooring and drains, a new dishwasher, new commercial sinks and new cooking equipment.
Additional requests in the jail budget include: $160,000 to replace a body scanner, $25,000 for a key control system and $40,000 to replace four exterior security doors. RCSO also increased its maintenance line item by $50,000 for additional routine maintenance updates.
Law enforcement and 9-1-1 budgets
The law enforcement budget request includes purchasing six new cruisers in order to maintain an “effective rotation” of RCSO’s fleet. This would include five marked cruisers and one unmarked.
The estimated cost per each equipped, marked cruiser is $74,000. An equipped, unmarked cruiser will cost $56,000 — bringing the total for the six cruisers to about $426,000.
There are also two projected retirements within the Law Enforcement Division, with payouts estimated to be approximately $115,000. There are five total law enforcement employees eligible for retirement in 2026 — totaling a liability of approximately $306,000.
In the sheriff’s proposed budget, the smallest percentage increases sought are in the dispatch center.
RCSO hopes to maintain the currently authorized staffing of 16 dispatchers. All other line items have been “slightly increased to account for increased cost of services.”
Cuts likely in order to pass balanced budget
It’s not out of the ordinary for the three-member board to trim millions off of total initial budget requests by the time the finalized spending plan is compete in December in order to reach a balanced general fund budget.
Commissioners have previously adopted a policy that requires them to balance the budget each year, i.e. not appropriating more than they and other county officials expect to generate in revenue.
On Tuesday, Vero said he’s not sure it is realistic to ask taxpayers to come up with about $1.3 million in capital requests. But he said the kitchen project at the jail is a must-do.
Sweat agreed that the jail kitchen is a priority.
“We are a 24/7 operation. The jail is a huge chunk of that, by far the largest of our three budgets and that is something the county is obligated to provide,” Sweat said.
Vero said he estimates the board will need to cut about $4.6 million overall (between all departments) to be able to pass a balanced budget.