Jefferson County Commission corrects sheriff on ‘defunding’ budget dispute

Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway claimed Thursday the County Commission is freezing 30% of his office’s budget and attempting to defund law enforcement. Pettway asserted the budget freeze will impact the office’s ability to provide services including personnel, operational constraints, equipment upgrades, training, community outreach, and a potential increase in crime. office released a statement about their fiscal year 2024 budget. However, the commission said the sheriff’s office was not correct.  The commission had requested a 30% freeze of all funded existing vacancies throughout the