By Paul Sylvain

Asked how his department's budget looked for the coming year, Washington County Sheriff Barry Curtis chuckled and replied, “I think it looks great.”

The Sheriff’s Department’s proposed budget for 2024 is up 14 percent over the 2023  budget. In dollars and cents, Curtis is asking for $2,536,901, which is up $315,994 from this year.

“Unfortunately it had to go up,” Curtis said in an interview with this publication Sept. 28. “It’s just the nature of the beast, where things are changing with coverage here in Washington County.”