El Paso County Sheriff’s Office faces over $4 million deficit

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The El Paso County Sheriff's Office faces a more than $4 million deficit -- up more than $550,000 from last week.

During Monday's El Paso County Commissioner's Court meeting, Budget and Finance Director Carmen Candelaria said projected deficit is because of salaries, overtime and meals at the jails.

She also said the department has just over $9 million left in its budget.

At the end of the meeting, county commissioners unanimously approved moving $1.5 million from the county’s operations budget to help with the cost of meals at the jails. They also approved transferring $27,000 from the courthouse security fund to cover the cost of ballistic shields.

In August, the department faced a $2.5 million shortfall.

ABC-7 reached out to the sheriff's office for comment.

Previously, El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte issued a statement about a previous projected budget shortfall. His statement read in part, quote:

"The reality is that providing effective public safety services requires substantial resources and carries significant costs. Operating detention facilities, putting deputies on our streets, investigating crimes, responding to emergencies, training our employees, and maintaining the equipment necessary to serve our community require significant resources. But every taxpayer dollar must also be justified and spent responsibly."