LORAIN COUNTY — Sheriff Jack Hall and his chief deputy are asking for a $34 million budget for 2026, pointing to a combination of deliberate budget cuts, inherited debt, and past administrative errors that have strained the Sheriff’s Office since the start of the year.
The most immediate challenge is a $750,000 cut made to the office’s 2025 budget. That reduction was followed by the need to request an additional $250,000 to cover unpaid bills from 2024—expenses that were not properly submitted or recorded under the previous administration.
“These weren’t optional expenses—they were bills that had to be paid,” said Chief Deputy Zachary Rinkes during the second public hearing on a proposed quarter-percent sales tax. “So before we even started planning for the year, we were already trying to plug a million-dollar hole.”
Rinkes also revealed that prior budget spreadsheets contained $1.8 million in mathematical errors, leading to inaccurate reports of what the Sheriff’s Office needed to function.
“We’re not asking for some bloated increase,” said Sheriff Hall. “We’re simply trying to get to where we should have been all along.”
The proposed $34 million budget includes funding for a prisoner transport team designed to reduce deputy overtime and shift medical escort duties away from road patrol. Officials estimate that this could save the county as much as $750,000 annually. Without the transport team, the total 2026 budget need rises to around $35.5 million.
County commissioners noted that the Sheriff’s Office continues to operate $7 to $8 million below its target funding level. If approved by voters, the proposed ¼% sales tax would create a dedicated revenue stream within the general fund, restricted solely to Sheriff’s Office operations.
The measure is expected to be reviewed for placement on the ballot during the commissioners’ meeting on July 1.