MOUNT VERNON — Knox County Sheriff David Barber met with the Knox County Commissioners on Monday to discuss his budget for 2008.
According to records provided by the commissioners’ office, Barber’s budget will increase by approximately $165,000 over last year’s. Most of the increase is due to a mandatory 3 percent salary increase for all sheriff’s office employees.
Barber said he intends to hire a new full- or part-time employee to deal with the changes in the sex offender registration laws. According to the new laws, Barber’s office is required to notify substantially more people in the Knox County area when a sex offender lives within 1,000 feet of a school than who were previously required to be notified. This is because under the new law, more offenses are included in the sex offender registry. Barber said a contracted vendor performs all the sex offender notifications in the county, and his office’s expenses are expected to increase accordingly.
Barber added that the new employee will also process concealed carry permits and conduct fingerprinting for background checks.
“Our office processes between 800 and 900 electronic fingerprint [submissions] a year,” said Barber. “Anyone wanting to work in a nursing home, school or even tenants looking to move [into certain properties] are sometimes required to have a background check.”
Barber said his office does not receive any money from the Attorney General’s Office, the entity which requires him to offer those services.
Other budget items include $105,000 for fuel and vehicle maintenance, $20,000 for uniforms and $75,000 for equipment.
Barber said he intends to use the equipment money to buy 28 digital cameras for patrol cruisers, upgrade light bars on the cruisers and add digital cameras to the jail.
Barber also announced that children’s services and the sheriff’s office have concluded interviews and intend to hire a new full-time children’s services detective by the end of the week. According to Barber, only two people applied for the new position.
The sheriff’s office is also accepting applications for two full-time jail staff members.
