Letter from Coos County Sheriff Gabe Fabrizio

Dear Boss….

By: Sheriff Gabe Fabrizio

Dear Boss,

As we are wrapping up the budget session for fiscal year 2025-2026, I wanted to check in with you and let you know how your Sheriff’s Office stands. Needless to say, it has been a rough year for all of us as it seems the price of everything continues to rise. This is true of government services as well. Did you know that the Sheriff’s Office goes grocery shopping? Every month, we purchase locally sourced groceries for Adults In Custody at the Coos County Jail. There are several requirements set forth by the state to ensure that the nutritional needs are met and we go grocery shopping to ensure we meet them. We have also noticed the price of eggs has gone up!

This is just one example of a myriad of other things where we are feeling the burn of inflation. We are affected by the increase in utilities and so forth and know what you are going through in these tough times. Our employees are your neighbors, fellow citizens who have answered the call of service. They also feel the impact of inflation.

2025 has been difficult for your Sheriff’s Office. Coos County has experienced a financial shortfall. In February of this year, the County mandated cuts of one pod from our jail resulting in the layoff of 7 employees and lowering our ability to house inmates from 98 to 49 people. From patrol, four and a half positions were cut from the budget including an administrative position. In this Office alone, through both personnel and equipment, we’ve reduced our General Fund draw by over $1,849,000 going into the next fiscal year compared to this year. At 49 beds our jail is consistently full resulting in the release people who would normally be held in custody.

Since July 1 of 2024 we have had three homicides occur in the county jurisdiction. All of these homicides resulted in arrests and the alleged suspects are being held in jail, but it shows the need for competent investigators to be out there handling these matters. This is outside of the assaults, burglaries, thefts and other calls for service handled by patrol staff on a day-to-day basis.

During the latest budget cycle that wrapped up this week, the county still had a deficit of about 1.7 million dollars. After paring down the budget the ultimate liability to the Sheriff’s Office would have been nearly $400,000. All of this would have come from patrol services and likely would have resulted in 4 deputies being laid off. This would have resulted in a severe cut back of patrol services to the county, likely meaning that we would only be able to field one ten-hour shift per day.

Members of the budget committee placed a priority in public safety and our budget was not cut this year. In order to accomplish this, six of your neighbors who serve within the county are being laid off, and money from a fund which is used to purchase forest lands to further the revenue of the county was tapped. Our ongoing ability as a county to provide services will, without a doubt, be hampered.

We, along with the Board of Commissioners are searching for alternative methods of funding that do not include a raise in taxes; we have definitively heard that that isn’t a palatable alternative at this time. But I would be remiss if I wasn’t up front in saying that what we find over the next year may not be enough. My door and the commissioners are open for ideas, collaboration or thoughts so long as they are constructive. I work for you, and every day I remind myself of that and try very hard to ensure that your law enforcement needs are met. I know that they are not to the standard that I would like them to be, despite the amazing personnel we have in the various roles of the Office. As of May we will have had four good employees leave for steadier employment. We are looking at the real possibility of having to hire this year and will need to ensure the new hires understand the potential challenges going forward.

I know Facebook will have all kinds of comments about this letter. I’m not trying to complain and will, as always, work with the resources we have for our incredible community and people. The fact is that I am thinking about people, most of all you and your employees who work with me. Thank you in advance for any constructive input you may have and I look forward to collaborating with you into the future.

Sincerely,

Sheriff Gabe Fabrizio

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