Facing a shrinking population and a poor bond rating, Adams County should be pinching its pennies.

Astonishingly, however, the board of supervisors is considering a request by Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield to increase his office’s budget.

Now is not the time to expand an existing county office’s budget without clearly having squeezed as much efficiency out of each and every dime of taxpayer money.

We haven’t seen evidence of that yet. In fact, indications are to the contrary.

Mayfield seeks an increase in his budget — which is set annually by the county supervisors and the county administrator — even though his previous year’s budget was already inflated.

In short, he hasn’t spent all the funds that were budgeted last year; meaning last year’s budget should be cut, not expanded.

The sheriff complains that he needs additional help because his office is overworked due to answering calls within the City of Natchez.

That’s an easy fix — transfer such calls to the Natchez Police where they belong.

From arm’s length other inefficiencies appear to exist. For example, Natchez Police and the ACSO both employ radio dispatchers 24-7.

Combining these offices should allow funding for at least one officer per shift to return to patrol.

If the county needs more deputies on the streets, perhaps we should reconsider spending on website and other public relations efforts and focus on the nuts and bolts of law enforcement.

County supervisors would be wise to set the sheriff’s budget to exactly the amount that was actually spent in the last 12 months.