Could White County wind up without police protection from the sheriff's department? There is no clear answer but according to budget figures from both the sheriff's department budget and the county general fund, the department will run out of money before the end of the year, and there could be no money left to appropriate.

Due to a shortage of money to buy gasoline, Sheriff Pat Garrett ordered last week that no uneccesary travel be done in order to save on gas. Deputies have been ordered to answer only emergency calls.

The sheriff has ordered the patrol department to stay within their assigned areas, answering only emergency calls, unless they are dispatched out to assist another officer in a life-threatening emergency.

"The only calls we're going on are emergency calls until August 21, at which time we are going to ask the quorum court again for help with fuel money."

However, according to figures made available by Major Kyle Stokes of the White County Sheriff's Department, the department has overspent its gasoline budget by nearly $2000, leaving it up to question whether or not the cars will be able to continue running at all.

Garrett said that outside of salaries, he only has just under $42,000 left in the budget to continue running the department until the end of the year.

The question of who is at fault for the department's financial woes depends upon who is asked. Garrett said the quorum court has taken money from his budget this year to pay for bills accrued last year, a total of $36,411.84 from the sheriff's department budget, and $44,102.95 from the detention center budget.

County Judge Bob Parish said the money was taken out to pay the bills, but maintains Garrett would have run into trouble before the end of the year whether the money was taken or not.

"Even if the money was left in, he would have a problem, he would run out before the end of the year. That's what I've tried to tell him," Parish said. He said that he sympathizes with Garrett, but there is little he can do to help.

County Clerk Doug Faith said the reason the money was taken out of this year's budget to pay bills from December was a new accounting program the county started using at the first of the year. Previously, he said, county bills and records were written out by hand, and when the new system went in, it could not access those records from the previous year, so it had to take the money out of the 2001 budget.

"We've been trying to get off that system," Faith said. "That's what we did in the 1800s. We knew we couldn't go back and pay those bills out of the 2000 budget and we explained that to the Legislative Audit Committee. They will go back and change the December bills to the 2000 budget."

"I know Pat's suffering," Parish said. "I've been there. If I was out of gravel at the road department, I'd be in a hell of a shape. I watch my money in those line items. When gasoline is $1.50 a gallon, you've got to watch it. Pat should have watched it. At $1.50 a gallon, he should have not done so much riding and looking and done more stopping and listening."

Garrett, however, said that he has been acting on a promise to make the department more responsive and that he has done so.

"I didn't anticipate making 1600 more calls in the first six months of this year than were made last year in that time," the sheriff said. "I also didn't realize we would have so many meth labs eating up our overtime money. As sheriff, I want to do what I was elected to do, and that's fight crime. We did that the first six months. Now, I don't know what to do. The bad guys don't work 8 to 4:30, but that's what I've had to put my CID people on."

He said he has shifted two detectives to the night shift to handle the overflow, but they spend most of their time taking care of what the day shift was unable to complete. "My hands are pretty well tied," he said.

Parish said that if the money cannot be found, Garrett may be faced with the choice of laying off personnel from the department.

"You'd have to lay people off," Parish said, if no other money can be appropriated. "Forty thousand may not be much in gasoline, but two people's salaries would pay it."

Garrett said he will only lay off personnel if he is forced to by the budget situation, but as a last resort.

"Yes," he said, "I won't have a choice. But, who do I start with?"

White County Treasurer Waylon Heathscott said the problem can be fixed, but it will require county officials to work together rather than criticizing each other.

"We've got so much criticism that we'll never settle the problem if we don't work together," he said. He noted that six percent of the jail's salary budget, about $40,000, could be transferred to the fuel line item, but it will require a request by the sheriff.

"I've explained that to him about three weeks ago, but he hasn't been in yet," Heathscott said. "He has to make the first step if he wants help."

He said that, rather than pointing fingers at each other, the people of White County would be better served if the parties concerned sit down together to work out a solution.

"To blame the sheriff, to blame the judge, to blame Doug Faith, that isn't the answer," Heathscott stated. "We've got a good quorum court and they want the police cars to roll, but there comes a point at which you just run out of money. It's to the point now of a blame game, and that won't solve the problem."