Sheriff gets one of two requested positions amid hiring freeze

CHELAN COUNTY — The Chelan County Board of Commissioners agreed to create one new administrative position in the Sheriff’s Office amid a hiring freeze, compromising on the sheriff’s request for two new hires to meet mounting workloads.

Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison made the request to commissioners on Aug. 17, explaining that current staffing levels were struggling to meet an increased demand for public records requests. 

“I think right now we're pending over 200 [public records requests]. I know that we make up over 90% of the public disclosure requests for the county when it comes to it. Certainly, I recognize our employees being overwhelmed,” said Morrison.

Despite the volume, Morrison said his records staffing remained below industry and regional levels for agencies with comparable responsibilities and workloads. Without adequate capacity, the sheriff warned that the department was at risk not only of burnout and attrition, but also of errors and oversights that could result in financial and legal exposure not covered by insurance. 

Earlier this year, the Sheriff’s Office paid $15,000 to a deputy as part of a settlement over a public records lawsuit.

In other instances, Morrison said he believed some requesters were “weaponizing” state disclosure requirements by trying to burden the agency, identify mistakes and profit from them. He added that the department had been compliant with state law and legal guidance.

“I certainly agree in transparent government, and that we should be able to share a lot of our documentation,” said Morrison. “Since that's the current environment we're playing in, I think that we should be taking this serious and at least trying to increase the staffing.

The request comes amid a hiring freeze, which commissioners implemented in an effort to balance a budget shortfall. The freeze applies to all regular full-time and part-time positions within the county through 2026; commissioners may authorize exceptions for grant-funded or critical positions that are considered necessary to county operations.

In addition to the two new positions, Morrison also requested authorizations to fill upcoming vacancies left by the retirement of two campus security deputies and a lead evidence technician. The sheriff stressed that his main priority was the latter, hoping to bring in a new hire to shadow before the incumbent’s retirement at the end of September.

While commissioners agreed to authorize the replacements, they were split on the two additions.

Commissioners Kevin Overbay and Brad Hawkins were skeptical of the mid-year request and encouraged the sheriff to include it in the 2027 budget.

“We need to honor the budget process. This was not a part of the budget. We would actually do a budget amendment to add this position and…We're so close to the end of the year,” said Overbay.

Overbay said he needed more information on the staff’s workload, and questioned whether changes had been made to policies and procedures following the public records incident. He further pressed the sheriff on why he didn’t ask for a body camera grant to cover two records positions that would oversee public disclosure requests for body camera footage.

In response to the grant, Morrison said he followed bad advice at the time, and in retrospect, should have included the positions. Since the public disclosure incident, the sheriff said he added training and brought on software assistance for more efficient processing.

Commissioner Shon Smith supported both additions, saying he sympathized with understaffing and overwhelming workloads. He lamented the term “hiring freeze,” noting that the commissioners have the ultimate authority.

“I have to put a lot of trust into the department heads...that come to me and say, ‘This is truly a need that needs to be taken care of,’” said Smith. “Losing a person is a lot more expensive than supporting a person with either more money or additional help.”

The motion to approve two positions failed two to one, with Smith as the outlier. Instead, commissioners unanimously agreed to approve one position for now. Hawkins reasoned that one position would help inform whether a second position is still necessary in the 2027 budget process.

“Maybe by the end of this last quarter of 2026, you might have a sense of ‘Hey, this is really a big help, and this might just get us by,’” said Hawkins.

Morrison told Ward Media that he appreciated the commissioners’ decision to authorize the one position. He would likely include the second position in his budget request, as advised, but was doubtful that it would be approved.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media