At the mid-point in Lancaster County's fiscal year, county agencies have spent $1.5 million more than outlined in the general fund budget.
One of the quirkiest spending issues credited to unforeseen circumstances came from the Sheriff's Office, where accommodating a uniform issue created another uniform issue.Â
Several years ago, deputies began wearing load-bearing, ballistic vests instead of duty belts to carry their equipment and ease strain on their backs.Â
But after the change, many deputies no longer had easy access to shirt pockets to put their cellphones, pens and notebooks, sheriff's officials said.Â
So the department looked into getting pants with cargo pockets, Sheriff Terry Wagner said.Â
But there's one problem.Â
People are also reading…
deputy sheriffs to wear what are known as pink-tan pants in law enforcement circles, and cargo pants makers don't readily carry the color, Chief Deputy Todd Duncan told the County Board.Â
Custom orders run about $110 per pair, more than double the $40 the office is used to spending on pants, Wagner said.
That cost adds up, considering the Sheriff's Office buys about 50 pairs a year, the sheriff said.
His staff discovered silver-tan cargo pants at a cost of $40, but changing the uniform color of their pants would contradict state law, Wagner said.Â
"To go against state statute, it's hard for us," the sheriff said.Â
County agencies are also spending more this year for private counsel appointed in Lancaster County Court for indigent defendants who can't be represented by the Public Defender's Office because of conflicts of interest.Â
And having more inmates more often in the Lancaster County jail has driven up the cost of food service, among other expenses, director Brad Johnson said.Â
The bulk of the jail's $325,000 in unanticipated expenses involves staffing, which has been stretched by the need to use its reserve wing to house the higher inmate population, Johnson said.
"This is the new normal," said County Board Chair Sean Flowerday, a former state prison corporal and caseworker.