The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is projected to finish the current fiscal year with a $2.5 million deficit because of extensive overtime expenditures, the county’s budget director said.
The Sheriff’s Office has $23 million left of its $142 million revised budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2026, which ends on Sept. 30, County Budget Director Carmen Arrieta-Candelaria told Commissioners Court on Aug. 10, in a presentation on the Sheriff’s Office’s budget.
The state of finances at the Sheriff’s Office is concerning enough that the budget office will be providing weekly updates to commissioners. The county’s new fiscal year 2027 starts Oct. 1.
The weekly budget updates are not meant to cast blame but to find solutions to an issue with various factors, County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said at the meeting.
“We are trying to maintain a budget that doesn’t impact constituents,” Samaniego said.
While there was some reduction in overtime expenses in May, the Sheriff’s Office will “more than likely” spend another $3,569,940 in overtime for the rest of the fiscal year, said Arrieta-Candelaria, citing projections based on data as of July 20.
Sheriff Oscar Ugarte has explained that he is having to use overtime to repeatedly fill what he has described as staffing shortfalls at the two El Paso County jails. Staffing tables may show positions filled, but the number of staff is not enough to meet needs, Ugarte has said.
“Keep in mind, Sheriff Ugarte inherited this, but he is trying to fix it as much as possible,” Assistant Chief Deputy Joe A. Chairez Jr. told commissioners.
The jails run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are dealing with aging infrastructure, plumbing, heating, and ventilation, as well as rising food costs and other challenges, said Chairez, who was also part of the leadership staff in the administration of retired former Sheriff Richard Wiles.
The county has not previously faced a similar level of over-budget spending, Betsy Keller, the county chief administrator, told Commissioners Court.
“While the Sheriff’s Office has been extremely cooperative, Sheriff Ugarte has worked to reduce the overtime,” Keller said. “We plan all of our contingencies for specific things. This is not a planned contingency. So, this is going to be an impact to our overall end of the year budget.”
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso County Sheriff’s Office could end fiscal year with $2.5M deficit
Reporting by Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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By Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
