ANIMAL CONTROL, PATROL, AND FLEET OPERATIONS AMONG ITEMS LISTED
In a letter to county commissioners obtained by The Landmark, Platte County Sheriff Erik Holland says that he’ll find a way to make transfers within his budget to give employees the five percent raise initially recommended by the county auditor.
But the move will negatively impact other crime fighting areas of the sheriff’s office budget.
The areas the sheriff indicates would face cuts as a result include patrol operations, investigative operations, communications, animal control and fleet operations.
As previously reported, county commissioners cut the auditor recommended five percent raise to 2.5 percent in the 2026 budget approved by commissioners earlier this month.
Holland sent the letter to county commissioners last Monday, Jan. 12. Holland said Platte County Presiding Commissioner Scott Fricker met with him on Jan. 13, and at that time Fricker said “he is not going to amend the budget,” Holland told the newspaper this week.
Following is the letter Holland emailed to county commissioners Scott Fricker, Joe Vanover and Allyson Berberich, and copied to Wes Minder, county administrator.
“As you know, I am requesting that you amend the 2026 budget to increase salaries in the sheriff’s office as well as those of the prosecuting attorney’s office and all other county employees by 5% instead of 2.5%. This is a crucial step. A 5% increase will still place the sheriff’s office behind a number of the agencies with which we compete for employees. In order to effectively serve our community, the sheriff’s office, the prosecuting attorney’s office, and other county officeholders must retain the hardworking staff we already have and recruit qualified individuals to fill vacancies that will inevitably arise each year.
“The commission approved budget’s 2.5% increase places the Platte County Sheriff’s Office about $10,000 to $15,000 behind the other comparable agencies’ starting salaries. As you are aware, we do not compare ourselves to the Kansas City Police Department due to vast differences in tax base between Platte County and Kansas City. Nevertheless, we compete with, the Kansas City Police Department for people and a number of former Platte County deputies now work there. I do not want to see us return to the years were we could not retain good staff due to insufficient pay. Between 2019 and 2022, the sheriff’s office lost at least 32 people to higher paying jobs.
“If the commission refuses to fund the 5% increase recommended by the county auditor in his proposed – and balanced – budget, I will be forced to make internal transfers from operational areas to move funds to the salaries lines so the sheriff’s office can attract and maintain qualified personnel. Unfortunately, doing so will slow down or stop several activities and projects. Before I make those internal transfers that will negatively impact services, I hope the commission will amend its approved budget to return the compensation related lines of the sheriff’s office, the prosecutor’s office and the remainder of county employees to include a 5% pay increase. Of course, the sheriff’s office can only investigate crimes and arrest lawbreakers; a safe county also depends on an adequately funded prosecuting attorney’s office to prosecute those crimes and hold those lawbreakers accountable in court.
“This is a list of the areas that will be negatively impacted if I am forced to reallocate funds within the sheriff’s office’s commission approved budget:
·Patrol Operations
·Investigative Operations
·SWAT Team
·Communications and 9-1-1
·Animal Control
·Information Technology (IT)
·Fleet Operations
As a result, the sheriff’s office would not:
·Fully fund training and equipment necessary for full and sustainable patrol, investigative and SWAT operations;
·Seek accreditation for the Communications/9-1-1 Center;
·Continue animal control services;
·Finish the disaster recovery project IT began last year;
·Replace six patrol vehicles scheduled and in need of retirement.
“Again, since the auditor has determined that sufficient tax revenue is available for the commission to amend the budget and fund these vital services within the constraints of a balanced budget, I hope the commission will amend its budget for the sheriff’s office, prosecuting attorney’s office, and other county employees.
“In addition, as the commission knows, Platte County is facing two time sensitive issues 1) finding a permanent storage location for the mobile Command Center and 2) firing range availability to effectively train and qualify deputies and armed civilians. First, the Command Center is currently housed at a local fire station with the understanding that this location is merely temporary, lasting only a few months, while the county locates a permanent storage solution for this asset. Second, we continue to struggle to find firing range availability – only finding space available a few months at a time. (We are not the only Platte County agency facing range availability issues.)
“Presiding Commissioner Fricker recently proposed a solution that would address both of these issues; dedicating undeveloped park land for those purposes. Doing so would allow the county to address both of these issues without the massive expense of land acquisition. Additionally, since special revenue funds could be utilized to complete both projects, Presiding Commissioner Fricker’s solution would have little to no impact on tax-generated monies. I urge the commission to move forward with this solution in a timely manner. As soon as the commission authorizes the land use, we could begin development, likely addressing both issues this year.
“Finally, Presiding Commissioner Fricker recently posted on social media that I “never even discussed” the World Cup with the commission and that I never ‘asked for a nickel to help during the World Cup.’ That is false. In fact, I discussed this very issue on Oct. 23, 2025, during a duly scheduled and noticed commission budget meeting attended by commissioners Allyson Berberich and Joe Vanover as well as County Auditor Kevin Robinson. Presiding Commissioner Fricker was absent from that meeting. During the meeting, I told the commission that the World Cup would likely require additional budgetary resources. However, I also observed that there were still a number of things up in the air and that time and at that time it was impossible to put an exact figure on the money necessary. During that same meeting I did bring up factors that would impact our level of involvement, including the possibility of a base camp within our county and the need to supplement other agencies. Even without the benefit of specific information, I recommended that the commission put money aside for World Cup related activities and that it may want to be in a separate fund for tracking purposes in case some costs were reimbursable.”
