established 2021

Lyon County Sheriff’s Message of the Week: January 3, 2025

Message of the Week 01/03/2025

Happy New Year and welcome to 2025!

The beginning of the New Year starts numerous processes within the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office; one of those processes is setting and working on the budget, which resets every year on July 1st. The budget process is tedious, and the budget team works diligently to ensure your tax dollars are spent responsibly and consistent with the law enforcement needs of the community.

In planning the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office budget, it’s important to think about how to achieve community goals in a cost-effective way. Below is the thought process when completing the annual budget:

Prioritize prevention: Prioritize prevention over remedial services.

Identify what works: Ask how the requested funding will achieve the desired outcomes and require supporting data.

Look for ways to save money: Consider reallocating funds from things that can be stopped or done differently.

Consider multidisciplinary solutions: Think outside of department resources and bring other perspectives to the table.

Demonstrate cost-effectiveness: Explain how an expenditure saves money or reduces risk.

Use activity-based budgeting: This method links police workload with financial planning to allocate resources more effectively.

Over the past two years, a concentrated effort has been made to remove the collective mindset of “this is how we have always done it.” Historical precedent does not determine the future budgets of the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office.

The annual report is another project that begins with the start of the New Year. The annual report gathers information from the Lyon County Sheriff’s and will be released to the public upon completion. The annual report will also be presented to the Board of County Commissioners in a public forum. The expected date of release is January 17th, 2025.