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Sheriff Gil Gilbertson

OREGON SHERIFF Magazine News

On January 1,2007, Gil Gilbertson took office as the newly elected Sheriff of the Josephine County.

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OREGON SHERIFF Magazine News

April, 2009 -- In October 2008, Congress passed the $700 billion Financial Bailout legislation, attached to that were numerous riders, one of which restored 4 years of "O&C" funding to Josephine County among others. This single act had a significant impact on the County, as the Sheriff's Office had 2 Tax Districts on the November ballot, both of which failed (60/40).

Though the federal money has been received by the County, the Board of Commissioners is still debating the best use of these funds, which leaves the Sheriff's Office treading water.

For the current budget year, staffing levels were reduced to 14 patrol deputies (operating on 1 12-hour shift), and Jail inmate capacity is capped at 100 (out of a potential 263 bed facility). Additionally, because of these budget shortfalls, the Records staff has been reduced to 3 clerks and coverage from 9:00 to 5:00.

Despite the lack of funding Sheriff Gilbertson and his staff have been seeking creative ways to develop risk-based partnerships. The best example is the partnership with a local insurance agencies working to disrupt a ring of car thieves that to date have stolen over $1 million in vehicles.

The Sheriff's Office is also using this opportunity to evaluate its own operations with a Top-to-Bottom Operational review, as well as devoting a significant amount of time to educating the other elected officials within the County as to the wide variety of responsibilities of the Office.

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