The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office (JPSO) is a stand-alone local political subdivision (i.e., local governmental entity) providing a variety of services to the citizens of the parish over and above normal law enforcement duties. To account for the activities of the JPSO, fund accounting is utilized in accordance with the pronouncements of the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB).
The JPSO is funded from a wide variety of sources, including property taxes, sales taxes, intergovernmental revenues and grants, service charges and commissions, fines and forfeitures, interest and other.
Expenditures
Like most law enforcement agencies, the majority of the JPSO expenditures are for salaries and benefits. Historically, nearly $0.75 of every dollar is spent in this area. Other operating costs include insurance, electricity, supplies, equipment, etc. Currently, the operating expenditures of the JPSO exceed $100 million.
Taxes
Unlike most other law enforcement agencies, the Sheriff of the Jefferson Parish also acts as the "Ex-Officio Tax Collector" for the various taxing agencies in the Parish. Taxes, licenses, fines and forfeitures, criminal bonds and other items collected by the Sheriff are accounted for separately from its normal operating funds as these monies are being held on behalf of other taxing bodies.
The JPSO Fiscal Year
The JPSO operates on a fiscal year basis, with June 30 being the end of the fiscal year.