Keeping a sufficient number of deputies on the roads as the population of Kitsap County grows is the biggest issue heading into 2026, per Sheriff John Gese, as he heads into his final year before retiring.

Three deputy positions had to be cut heading into the new year, the result of a 3% across-the-board budget cut mandated by the county commissioners, Gese reported.

“We are losing positions when our county is growing. We see the growth – housing developments and apartment complexes moving in, more cars on the road. My hope was that we could increase the size of our department to keep pace with the growth and what people expect for police services. Instead, now we’re challenged and going backwards.

“Kitsap County is struggling with budget struggles, like so many other jurisdictions. Basically, the cost of doing business is exceeding the amount of revenue coming in. The sheriff’s office is a big piece of the county general fund budget. We are 40 – 45% of that budget just ourselves,” Gese said.

In 10 years, Kitsap County’s population has grown from 253,568 in 2014 to 281,420 in 2024, an increase of nearly 28,000, per materials the sheriff’s office provided to the county commissioners.

Gese stressed his department is not “resource rich.”

Washington State ranks in last place among states for the number of officers per a thousand population, he stated. The Sheriff’s Office usually ranks in the bottom 10 of the 270 agencies here in Washington for having officers per 1,000 population, he said.

Gese says as his office is facing budgetary restraints, it will have to maintain patrol and jail shifts at minimum staffing levels. Currently, the office has up to seven deputy openings and up to four corrections officer vacancies.

Gese avoided losing three correction officer positions at the jail by shifting division funds. Revenue raised by the jail juvenile tax – normally are used for juvenile projects and jail capital improvements – was redirected to keep the correction officers on, he explained.

“To fund those positions is a little bit of a gamble because then we have less money to use for capital improvements. The jail is an aging facility. My hope is that we don’t see a lot of capital improvements that are going to be impacted by that decision,” he said.

Staffing reductions will have consequences for public safety, the sheriff noted.

“It means we have fewer patrol cars out there than we’d like to see,” he said.

“We’re not going to be able to put any people in traffic like we had hoped. Traffic enforcement is one of the most requested services we get. The number of DUIs we’ve been seeing lately is high and the number of reckless driving and car crashes we’ve seen has been high the last couple of years,” he said.

In addition to the lost deputy positions, Gese noted that the department is suffering from staff attrition.

“We are seeing, what I call historic turnover and staff challenges. People are retiring, we’ve lost a few to other agencies and some are leaving the profession. We also have people out on long-term leave, sick leave or family leave. It hit us particularly hard this year he said.”

At the start of the year, the office had 125 deputies, down three from a year ago. Looking ahead, Gese believes the county will face additional cuts in the years ahead.

“The budget cuts the county had to take amounted to $6 to $8 million of the general fund. Looking forward, we’re already being told that we’re going to have to face similar budget cuts at the end of ‘26 and for ‘27 and maybe beyond,” Gese said.

Should county funds continue to remain tight in the years ahead, Gese foresees more headaches for law enforcement.

“My worry is, losing three deputy positions may not sound very much compared to 128 total positions. But, if we keep cutting three this year and three next year, we are going to go backwards in a fashion that’s really, I think, unacceptable,” he said.

Solution: a tax?

To offset additional future budget shortfalls, Kitsap County may need to set up a criminal justice tax, Gese said.

Imposing such a tax is not a new suggestion. Gese had emphasized that a new funding source for police funding was needed during prior budget deliberations.

“This is something me, as sheriff, the county commissioners, and our citizens really need to take a look at,” Gese said.

There are several ways the new tax could be set up, the sheriff said.

-A one-to three-tenths of a percent sales tax could be used to fund criminal justice purposes. That money would be shared with the cities.

-The county could also impose a one-tenth-of-a-percent criminal justice sales tax without a vote of the people, under new legislation passed in Olympia.

-Also, a property levy could be presented to voters, similar to what is done by school districts and fire departments.

Progress on developing the new tax has not gone beyond the discussion stage, Gese said.

Jail costs

Another concern for Gese next year is rising medical costs to care for jail inmates.

“In our jail, we provide medical service, medical and mental health services to the incarcerated people. If somebody comes to jail and they’re sick, and don’t need to be in the hospital, we provide medical services and mental health services for them. That has really seen some escalating costs,” Gese said.

Jail medical expenses are expected to climb $800,000 next year, he said. In addition to that problem, the sheriff said the health provider contracted to provide care to inmates may not continue to serve the jail. “There’s some fear that the company we have may pull out. It was the only company that actually offered a bid for us to cover jail medical. There are few contractors left that will even do provide medical services to jails in Washington State.”

Retirement

Sheriff Gese will hang up his uniform at the end of 2026, following a 35-year career at the sheriff’s office, including being sheriff since August 2021.

“It’s time,” says the 65-year-old. Still, Gese emphasized, “I’m not going to sit back for a year and coast. We’re going to accomplish things. It will be a year of moving forward, facing some of our challenges and preparing for the leaders who are going to come in.”