At a recent Anderson County Commission meeting, Sheriff Wes McClane discussed the jail, and dispatch 2026 budget requests. The sheriff budget increased roughly $140,000 due to possibly moving to a lease program for the patrol vehicles. Discussion was tabled pending a meeting with the vendor this week to provide more details on the program. Sheriff McClain informed the commissioners he purchased health monitoring sensors for holding cells which provide information on the inmates’ heart rate and respiratory rates for $14,500 and a spartan tracking software for inmates for $4,500 with an annual fee of $3,500.
Also at the meeting, the South East Kansas Mental Health Center gave an extensive report, stating that the county’s annual appropriation to the center is set aside to pay for care for those who can not afford their care. Commissioners, put off by the huge salaries of executives and a $75 million budget, told them that instead of the $90,000 funding supplied last year, the 2026 amount would only be one dollar.
