PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – As the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office stares down funding cuts from the federal, state and local levels, Sheriff Matt English is warning community members they will see reduced services.
English issued a press release July 15, detailing the budget shortfall of just over $660,000 –which is leading his office to operate at reduced capacity across several programs.
The reduced services come after Hood River County voters renewed a 2020 public safety levy in November; however, officials planned for the levy to supplement typical funding streams from federal and state governments. But this budget cycle is different, English said.
“I feel very lucky to be part of a community that so overwhelmingly supports the work that our teams do day in and day out”, English said in the press release. “In 2020, Hood River County passed a public safety levy, to ensure many of the Sheriff’s Office services were provided to county residents, to include 24-hour patrol coverage, investigators for serious crimes, emergency management, and court security. Voters renewed the levy last November by over 73%.”
“The commissioners at the time explored a myriad of options to include a special taxing district but ultimately the rate was thought to be too high and not palatable to voters. At the rate the commission approved, it was understood that there would be a need for continued support from the county’s general fund, grants, and funding streams from the federal and state governments,” English explained.
“Unfortunately, some of those sources aren’t coming to fruition this budget cycle,” he continued. “The levy funded services remain intact but the resulting cuts from other revenue sources will be seen and felt by our community.”
Federal funding lost: a ‘gut punch’
As far as federal funding, English explained that his office is missing out on a few grants because of Oregon’s status as a sanctuary state. Those grants would have supported the office’s response for marine-related calls and natural disasters.
“Hood River is kind of known as an outdoor mecca, and particularly, the Columbia River in our area is highly utilized by windsurfers and kiteboarders and draws visitors from all over the world,” English said.
“We had one full-time marine deputy to hopefully promote safety and to respond to rescues. And because the Oregon State Marine Board was unable to apply for a federal grant through the U.S. Coast Guard due to Oregon’s sanctuary status, they were unable to fund 30% of our program, and that was across the board for all marine programs in the state,” English explained.
Now, the full-time deputy assigned to the marine program must split their time with the Off Highway Vehicle Enforcement program and the United States Forest Service program, which will ultimately reduce capacity for the marine program, English explained, noting a half-time deputy sheriff position covering the USFS contract lost their position.
“Now we lost capacity in our search and rescue division because we had to utilize some of the money in there to ensure that our marine deputy could remain employed with the office. So, those types of things compounded. What that means is it’s a loss of capacity. It’s a loss of a body, somebody that can respond. And when you have a small organization like ours, everybody counts,” English said.
Another federal grant would have supported a multi-state program providing mental health support for law enforcement members under the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act.
Previously, the grant supported mental health programs for law enforcement in Hood River and Wasco County, along with the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office in Washington state. The funds were managed by the Hood River Sheriff’s Office.
English said over the last two grant cycles, the grant brought in over $300,000 to provide counseling, peer support teams and exercise programs for law enforcement.
“We were notified just a couple of weeks ago that we were ineligible to apply again because of Oregon’s status as a sanctuary state,” English told KOIN 6. “That one really concerns me as well. We’ve made strides in that arena. We were actually recognized nationally for what we are doing in rural communities for wellness, and we were set to bring on Sherman, Gilliam and Wheeler counties, the three frontier counties that are quite remote and resource poor. We had big plans this budget cycle to ensure the mental health support for those folks as well so, that was a real gut punch, honestly. We’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to recover.”
Amid the loss of federal grants, Oregon Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Dexter (D-03) — whose district includes Hood River County — told KOIN 6 News she’s fighting for funds under the Secure Rural Schools Act, which includes funding the sheriff’s office can use to respond to search and rescue missions.
“Trump said he would make our communities safer. Instead, he is forcing state and local leaders into an impossible situation: compromise the safety of their communities or betray the very values they were elected to uphold. I’m fighting every day to bring Hood River and every corner of our district the resources it needs to thrive. That’s why I support the Secure Rural School Act to restore critical federal funding for essential services in rural communities, from search and rescue to schools and roads. While Trump continues to divide and defund, I won’t back down from helping the people I represent,” Dexter said in a statement.
“We draw millions of visitors a year to this region and so we’ve got to have a robust search and rescue program,” English added. “Without an alternate funding source, we’re going to be in trouble in a couple of years if we don’t get funding.”
‘A huge hit’
As far as state-level funding, English explained that the state legislature did not allocate the requested amount of funds to the sheriff’s office. This led to two positions being cut under the Parole and Probation division: a work crew supervisor and a probation deputy. That’s equivalent to 40% of their workforce.
Alongside the job cuts, Hood River County Sheriff’s Office ended its community service program, which had been in place for 30 years.
English explained that the community service division offered “an opportunity for folks that had been in trouble with the law to five back in a way that doesn’t utilize jail and is productive and helps the community,” adding, “that’s a huge hit.”
“Then we lost a probation officer and so we were down to one full-time parole and probation officer, so we’ve had to reorganize caseloads and take a look at the way that we’re supervising because we have really limited capacity,” English told KOIN 6.
In response to the cuts by the state legislature, KOIN 6 News reached out to Senator Daniel Bonham (R-The Dalles) and Representative Jeff Helfrich (R-Hood River), whose districts include Hood River County Sheriff’s Office. Sen. Bonham’s office did not respond to KOIN 6’s request for comment on the sheriff’s office funding cuts.
In a statement to KOIN 6, Rep. Helfrich empathized with the sheriff’s office and criticized the way the state positioned itself for federal funding.
“I am deeply troubled by the recent funding reductions impacting the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office. The loss of critical resources for parole and probation services, alongside cuts to marine patrol, search and rescue, emergency management, and overtime budgets, will pose a serious threat to public safety in our community,” Helfrich said.
The representative continued, “While I commend Sheriff English for doing what he can with the resources available to him, it’s frustrating to hear how Oregon has poorly positioned herself to receive those federal dollars that help fund vital resources like mental health and wellness for our public safety officers who serve our communities. This session, I continuously advocated for robust funding for public safety, including for parole and probation officers, recognizing their vital role in ensuring community safety and offender rehabilitation. These officers provide essential supervision and support, helping to reduce recidivism and maintain public security.”
On the local level, the Sheriff’s Office overtime budget was reduced by roughly one-third.
“Overtime is an unfortunate reality of public safety work, particularly for the Sheriff’s Office, where it is utilized to cover shifts on a regular basis,” English said in the press release. “Nationally, Oregon has ranked at the bottom of the list for public safety staffing ratios; making overtime a necessity to ensure the public has first responders available to respond to calls.”
In response to English’s concerns over the funding cuts, Hood River County Chair Jennifer Euwer told KOIN 6 in part, “like many counties across Oregon, we are experiencing significant financial pressure from rising inflation and increased costs for salaries and benefits, costs that have far outpaced the growth of our revenues. The Sheriff’s Office represents the largest portion of our county’s budget, with some of the highest salaries and benefits, underscoring the financial strain we face.”
Chair Euwer also raised concerns about the county’s preparedness for natural disasters as the Sheriff’s Office faces a budget shortfall, explaining, “As a county prone to natural disasters such as wildfires, landslides, and other hazards that complicate evacuation and emergency response, we are deeply concerned that key resources of federal support – particularly federal emergency management funds and Secure Rural Schools funding have not been reauthorized.”
Euwer concluded, “Given these fiscal challenges and the uncertainty of future state and federal support, the County will soon begin a comprehensive evaluation of how we operate and how essential services will be sustainably funded moving forward.”
While reduced budgets aren’t new for the sheriff’s office, in his 12.5 years as Hood River County Sheriff, English said he’s never seen cuts at this scale.
“We’ve experienced cuts locally, because our county is really small and has a small tax base and 75% of our county is publicly owned, and so that means that we can only collect property taxes on 25% so, it’s been a struggle,” English said. “We’ve seen reductions, but I don’t think I’ve seen this scale, the amount of funding sources that aren’t coming through at once. We’re at six, probably, sources that are in jeopardy, or have been cut or we are precluded from attempting to get.”
English acknowledged legal action some states have taken against the federal government to unlock funding for state agencies, noting, “I understand there’s political differences and I understand that there’s different ideas but at the end of the day, it’s not the folks that are in Congress, or in DC, that are necessarily being hurt.”
“It’s not one person’s fault, it’s not one group’s fault,” the sheriff said of the funding shortfall. “It’s just a lot at one because we’re seeing it at all levels of government that just happens to impact the sheriff’s office and we’re not the only ones. My counterparts across the state are feeling the same crunch and seeing some of the same reductions.”
“We’re really lucky to live in an area where we are really supported by our community…and our community showed us that trust in 2020 by passing a public safety levy that helps fund the sheriff’s office and so we’re still able to continue delivering those services uninterrupted,” Sheriff English said. “But I do worry on shrinking budgets and lost grants. Going forward, what position are we going to be in? Today, we can still do a lot of our core functions but some of our other programs that do make an impact and that are seen in the community are going to be impacted.”
