Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond today asked county commissioners for almost $2.5 million more in the coming year to hire new school resource officers and jailers and to buy new cars.
“What I’m presenting you today is really a dire picture,” Hammond said to County Mayor Jim Coppinger and commissioners at Hammond’s quarterly luncheon. The request amounts to about a bit more than an 8 percent increase in the sheriff’s budget of around $27 million.
The department needs nine deputies, nine detectives and 15 jailers, he said. The personnel costs would tally an estimated $1.96 million. In addition, Hammond said, the department also needs $600,000 for equipment, vehicle and maintenance.
Read more in Friday’s Times Free Press.
Ansley Haman covers Hamilton County government. A native of Spring City, Tenn., she grew up reading the Chattanooga Times and Chattanooga Free Press, which sparked her passion for journalism. Ansley's happy to be home after a decade of adventures in more than 20 countries and 40 states. She gathered stories while living, working and studying in Swansea, Wales, Cape Town, South Africa, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Ga., and Knoxville, Tenn. Along the way, she interned for ...
