GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) – A proposed budget for the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office in southwestern Oregon would fund the department at 100 positions – a number not seen since budget cuts decimated the agency seven years ago.

The Daily Courier reports in 2012, federal funding cuts triggered county budget cuts that reduced the department to 37 employees.

The budget cuts were prompted by reductions in federal payments tied to declining timber harvests on federal land. As the on-again, off-again federal funding was partly restored, sheriff’s office employment numbers have inched up.

A year ago, the county Board of Commissioners adopted a sheriff’s budget with 87 positions.

Even with the additions, Sheriff Dave Daniel says he still can’t offer round-the-clock patrols or a detective division. Currently, deputies are on the road 12 hours a day.

Oregon State Police continue to fill in much of the gap.

Information from: Daily Courier, http://www.thedailycourier.com

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