It all began with County Board Chairman John Blum, questioning the accountability of some sheriff operations.

John Blum says he had no intention of attacking Sheriff Dave Snyders and his department. He just raised realistic questions that need asking as the county's faces a tight budget situation.

"We were just trying to find any possible revenue or expense cut short of doing anything with of our manpower because that's the most valuable asset we have," Blum said.

Blum sent Sheriff Snyders an 18-point questionnaire earlier this month. That dominated Tuesday's budget meeting where Snyders responded to every inquiry.

Questions included the idea of adjusting employee hours to be more efficient; using the sheriff's volunteer reserve unit to supplement full time deputies; and seeking budget relief from union contracts.

Snyders says most of that is a tough sell. But he's still opening dialogue with employees about possible furloughs. Tuesday night, he suggested either one day off a month or taking two weeks off during the year. He also mentioned leaving open five vacant positions to avoid layoffs.

"I think we answered any question that the county board might have had and we answered them accurately. There was no surprises in what we gave them.," Snyders said.

The county's asking the sheriff's office to cut around $700,00 to help offset an overall $1.3 million budget deficit.

Sheriff Snyders has said in the past that cuts could include closing down part of the jail and cutting patrol deputies from 13 to five. But at this point, those are still up for discussion and could be reversed.

That discussion will continue next Tuesday night. The county board has until November 30th to approve the budget.