The Seward County Commissioners on Oct. 14 split 3-2 on a resolution related to the Seward County Sheriff’s Office staffing levels, which had been discussed during the department’s budget planning in recent months.
But the two commissioners opposing the resolution – Chair Misty Ahmic and Scott Pekarek – said their votes were more about whether the resolution was needed and appropriate, than the actual staff count which was a factor in recent budgeting for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Three commissioners – Raegan Hain, Darrell Zabrocki and Ken Schmieding – voted to adopt the resolution limiting the number of deputies to 18 full-time positions with a $1.3 million total compensation package, which is down one position from the current number of sworn deputies.
The board had passed a motion on the number of deputies on Aug. 26, but Seward County Attorney Wendy Elston advised the board to also pass a resolution on the number of deputies and the total compensation for them.
Ahmic said the board does not pass similar resolutions for other county departments and noted that the budget process for all departments includes designating a list of positions and the salaries or wages affiliated with that list to calculate budget totals.
Pekarek, who is the board’s liaison with the sheriff’s office, also voted against the resolution.
“I don’t believe the board should be setting the number of deputies. I think that is the sheriff’s job,” Pekarek said.
Ahmic said state statute indicates the board “can” set the number of deputies in the department but does not require it.
Commissioner Raegan Hain said the board is called upon to approve new positions for other county departments outside the budget cycle and has voted to remove positions from other departments in the past.
The point has been contended between Sheriff Mike Vance and the commission throughout the budgeting process. Vance has said it is the sheriff’s role to set the number of deputies hired.
His department now has 19 full-time, sworn deputies, and both the budget and this resolution cut that number to 18. Vance has said in previous meetings he could lower the number to 18 through natural attrition given time.
After the commissioners’ action, Vance said his department is understaffed in comparison to other counties in the area and compared to national statistics.
Following some discussion, he told commissioners that the issue “is not going to be settled between us.”
“It is nothing personal with any of you,” he said. “I have to do what’s right for the county.”
He said he did “not want it to go this way,” and would be meeting with an attorney later in the week to discuss his legal options. Contacted Oct. 17, Vance said he is meeting with legal advisors.
The sheriff’s office was again discussed as the board was preparing its Oct. 21 meeting agenda, and some commissioners wanted to put Vance’s Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification (ESAC) report on the agenda for possible approval.
This is the federal report that commissioners declined to endorse prior to its Aug. 30 due date pending further information about the Seward County Drug Interdiction Task Force’s “no spending” status with the U.S. Department of Treasury over expenditures deemed ineligible in the program.
Commissioners and Vance are now working with representatives from the federal government to determine how the department will repay $33,212 of the funds it received and used for activities the Treasury Department has questioned. Treasury has already held back $729,000 to repay other expenditures they said did not comply with spending guidelines for the forfeiture funds from 2021 to 2024.
In addition, commissioners and Vance are working to implement a purchase order system for task force expenditures and a memorandum of agreement with area schools for school resource officer services.
But Ahmic said the county will not hear back from the person they have worked with at the Department of Treasury until the end of the calendar year and the county is not ready to revisit the report at this time.
Zabrocki said the county should clear up the federal questions on the expenditures before Vance completes his term at the end of 2026. Vance has indicated he will not seek re-election.
The new sheriff, Zabrocki said, needs to be working with the federal agencies “with a clean slate.”
Pekarek said he wants the commissioners to keep moving forward on the ESAC.
Ahmic asked that the report be a topic of discussion for the board at its Oct. 21 meeting.
In other action, commissioners:
• Meeting as the Board of Equalization, gave final approval to the list of tax levies set for taxing entities of Seward County for 2026 and approved two tax list corrections.
• Approved a letter for the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office confirming the Oct. 7 appointment of Brandy Johnson as Seward County clerk to complete the vacated term of Sherry Scheitzer until Jan. 7, 2027.
• Approved plans for the Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership to use the courthouse for activities related to the Christmas Festival on Nov. 29, with the Santa House remaining on the lawn from Nov. 25 to Jan. 5.
• Reappointed Susan Burkey and Shawna Agena to the Seward County Aging Services Board and appointed Connie Wilkin to fill a vacant position.
