El Paso Matters – El Paso County commissioners review Sheriff’s Office overtime spending for jails

Five months into the fiscal year, El Paso County spent nearly half of its public safety budget, largely driven by overtime costs for jail staffing by the Sheriff’s Office. The spending has prompted a special Commissioners Court meeting Thursday to discuss the department’s budget.

Sheriff Oscar Ugarte, who took office in January 2025, said he has had to rely on overtime to adequately staff the county’s two jails during his first year and a half in office because the county has not allowed for additional staffing – concerns he said he has raised with commissioners since last year.

“I (previously) mentioned to the Commissioners Court that, on paper, our staffing tables look adequate, right? So, if you look right now, I have no detention officer positions available, but if you look at our schedules, every day, we are using overtime hours paying our detention staff to build positions,” Ugarte said.

Ugarte said he did not ask for additional staffing his first year in office since the budget for that fiscal year had already been adopted. The office has about 1,031 employees, including 200 deputies and 515 detention officers, the Sheriff Department’s budget records show and a $136 million budget for the current fiscal year.

“The sheriff is using more overtime than normal. Last year was a high year of overtime, and this year is a high year of overtime (but he) is spending quicker than what we normally see at this point in the year,” County Administrator Betsy Keller told El Paso Matters.

The county blocked additional staffing requests countywide this fiscal year as it faced budgetary restraints. While public safety comprises the Sheriff’s Office and justices of the peace, the majority of overtime costs have come from detention officers. 

The public safety sector had spent 47% of its budget through February – far more than other government functions through the first five months of the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, according to a budget presentation during a March 19 Commissioners Court meeting.

“Our public safety (spending) is one that we are keeping track of,” budget and finance director Carmen Arrieta-Candelaria said during the meeting. “(That’s) a little bit higher than what we would expect.”

Neither Ugarte nor Keller provided specific figures on how much of the Sheriff’s Office allocation of the public safety budget has been spent since March.

Ugarte said the department meets the state’s requirement that stipulates one detention officer per 48 inmates, but there are a lot of nuances when it comes to jail staffing.

“But to run a jail, it’s like running a city. It’s 24/7 besides the housing area, you know, we need to run a laundry, we need to run a kitchen, we need to run our cleaning crews – all these individuals – to supervise these inmates we need detention officers attached to them,” he said. He added that detention officers are also pulled from their jail duties to escort inmates to and from the hospital and court, which strains staffing.

Commissioners Court on Thursday will hear directly from Ugarte about security issues, staffing concerns and budget needs driving the increase in overtime pay, Keller said.

Keller said the Commissioners Court also wants to hear about the county’s legal rights and responsibilities as they pertain to the Sheriff’s Office. The Commissioners Court approves the budget for the Sheriff’s Office, but does not have oversight for how elected officials such as the sheriff run their departments. 

Thursday’s agenda lists an open session discussion on the Sheriff’s Office budget and operations and two executive session items for legal advice. The discussions behind closed doors will also focus on the department’s budget and operations, as well as how personnel or equipment are used.

Ugarte said he welcomes the Commissioners Court to tour the jail.

“A concern is overtime being used. I want to show (the Commissioners Court) look – this is the schedule for my day. These are where the positions are being placed, and so they can walk through and see – this person is on overtime, but this is the reason why we’re using them, and (they) need to be there,” he said.

Since March 30, Commissioners Court has approved at least $3.3 million in spending for the Sheriff’s Office for items such as 18 2026 Chevrolet Silverados equipped for law enforcement use, new in-vehicle and hand-held radio upgrades, Panasonic Toughbooks and radio upgrades to the Downtown jail and the jail annex on the Far Eastside.

Ugarte said his department has a fleet of at least 430 aging vehicles. He was given a $2 million budget for vehicles this year and was able to purchase the 18 replacements. He said he also wants to work on a plan with the Commissioners Court to replace aging equipment rather than continue to spend on costly vehicle repairs.

“Law enforcement is very expensive, and that’s something that I mentioned in every community meeting. For example, just one of the radios that we carry – the radio that each deputy carries in the field – is $10,000 just to run radio the patrol unit,” he said.

The county adopted its current $635.6 million budget in September 2025, which includes a general fund budget of about $495 million that pays for basic services. The county is also using about $33 million in from its reserves to maintain services, but still has about $47 million for emergencies. County non-uniform employees didn’t receive pay raises for the second consecutive year, but uniformed employees such as sheriff deputies and other law enforcement officers got pay raises under previously approved collective bargaining agreements. 

The county is facing other budget constraints, including financial obligations from previously approved collective bargaining agreements for law enforcement, increased costs for employee health insurance and unfunded state mandates, including pay increases for judicial salaries.

Ugarte, whose annual salary is more than $199,000 per year, is responsible for executing and developing policy and setting budgets for his office. The Sheriff’s Office manages criminal investigations and drug detection programs, provides law enforcement in the unincorporated parts of the county and operates the Downtown jail and the jail annex on the Far Eastside.

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