Marion County Sheriff John Layton (photo courtesy of WCTV)

The Marion County Sheriff's Office has proposed a balanced budget for 2013.

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Sheriff John Layton and Lieutenant Colonel Louis Dezelan submitted their budget to the City-County Council's Public Safety Committee Wednesday. Dezelan said their budget of $109 million is the same as what has been proposed by the Office of Finance and Mangement, leaving them without a deficit for the first time in several years. Dezelan added their budget request for 2013 is $4 million less than their request for 2011.

Sheriff Layton said they made several adjustments in 2012 to reduce their proposed budget including shifts in personnel and taking action to reduce the cost of health care for arrestees and inmates. Earlier this year, Layton said his office was facing a $16.8 million shortfall for 2012. Dezelan said the adjustments made by the sheriff along with an expected additional appropriation of nearly $12 million at the end of this year will not only eliminate that shortfall but also any increases in 2013.

Many sheriff's deputies were in attendance at Wednesday's meeting and Sheriff Layton credited all of his deputies for doing what they could to help the department reduce costs. Several city-county councillors commended Layton and his staff for their efforts but also encouraged the Sheriff's Office to continue to look for efficiencies that would reduce costs even further.