Thurston County sheriff warns of consequences from $4.5 million budget cuts
Oct 5, 2025, 5:03 AM
Budget cuts are looming for Thurston County as officials grapple with a $24 million shortfall that could strip $4.5 million from the sheriff’s office.
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders outlined how the steep budget cuts could severely impact the community on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio.
“At the $4.5 million cut level, we would have had to shut a dorm in our jail down, which is just under 70 beds,” Sanders said. “Now, the thing that people need to remember about Thurston County Jail is that it used to be about 50% misdemeanor crimes, 50% felony crimes. Today, it fluctuates around 90% felony, 10% misdemeanor. We’re not talking about letting out people who couldn’t pay traffic fines, we’re talking about burglary, fraud, identity theft, those are the types of crimes we’re talking about.”
Watch the full discussion in the video above.
Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.
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