The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office is changing how it will provide law enforcement services in Julesburg
The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office is making changes to how it provides law enforcement services to communities throughout the county.
Undersheriff Scott Brettell says the department is working to move away from what he described as decades of mismanagement and establish a more professional and functional operation.
One of the biggest changes will be formal agreements between the Sheriff’s Office and local municipalities.
The agreements, known as Intergovernmental Agreements, or I-G-As, would spell out responsibilities and costs when the sheriff’s department provides law enforcement services to towns.
Brettell says the agreements aren’t simply about collecting money. They also provide legal and financial protection for both the county and the municipalities.
He pointed to emergencies as one example.
Brettell says that during a disaster, such as a tornado, the sheriff is the only person in the county who has the authority under state law to order additional resources.
Without formal agreements in place, he says, there isn’t a clear framework for determining who is responsible for the costs and other obligations during an emergency.
The Sheriff’s Office also wants to make sure providing police services to individual towns doesn’t take resources away from critical county services, including ambulance operations and dispatch.
Brettell says the goal is to create a fair and sustainable system in which each municipality pays for the law enforcement services it receives.
The Sheriff’s Office is also looking for ways to keep residents informed about the changes, including older residents who may not use social media.
Officials say making the information accessible to the entire community will be an important part of the transition.
In a letter posted on social media from Sheriff Koby Quayle of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office to the citizens of Julesburg, Colorado, it spelled out the official notice of termination of non-statutory services from the SCSO.
In a portion of the letter, which was dated Saturday, September 5, 2026, it says: ‘At midnight on September 8, 2026, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office will no longer be the Law Enforcement provider for the Town of Julesburg. I have provided Julesburg with their options moving forward with reestablishing their Police Department or contracting with the Colorado Rangers. Unfortunately, my Office can no longer responsibly do this unfunded service for free. Additionally, not having an IGA (Intergovernmental Agreement) is putting the County at financial risk instead of Julesburg, where it belongs.
The Sheriff’s Office is only funded to operate for 80 hours a week in the unincorporated portions of the County, with the other 86 hours uncovered. By Colorado statute, the Sheriff is the keeper of the jail and courthouse, as well as the county fire warden. The duties of patrolling the unincorporated portions of the county are discretionary.’
At the end of the letter, it says: ‘To citizens in Ovid, Sedgwick and unincorporated Sedgwick County, this Notice does not apply to you. I also want to make clear that Sedgwick County is in a financial crisis and all three of our commissioners have my support as well as my gratitude for a good working relationship. I do not envy the positions they are in. In closing, I ask for your support and understanding, especially for my employees who do a lot for as little as I can pay them. Please focus your complaints towards me and or the Town of Julesburg.’
*The original letter posted to social media: Dated September 5, 2026 -
OFFICIAL NOTICE: Termination of Non-statutory Services from SCSO
As I hope everyone has been following the Intergovernmental Agreement process with the
Sheriff’s Office and Town of Julesburg, I want to make everyone aware of the outcome which
sadly hasn’t gone as I had wished, after 8 months of attempts.
At midnight on September 8 th 2026, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s will no longer be the Law
Enforcement provider for the Town of Julesburg. I have provided Julesburg with their options
moving forward with reestablishing their Police Department or contracting with the Colorado
Rangers. Unfortunately, my Office can no longer responsibly do this unfunded service for free.
Additionally, not having an IGA is putting the County at financial risk instead of Julesburg where
it belongs. The Sheriff’s Office is only funded to operate for 80 hours a week in the
unincorporated portions of the County, with the other 86 hours uncovered.
By Colorado Statute the Sheriff is the keeper of the jail and courthouse, as well as the county
fire warden. The duties of patrolling the unincorporated portions of the county are
discretionary. Currently our commissioners fund two deputies who cover 40 hours each (80
hours) per week. Colorado municipalities, towns and cities have the option of having a Police
Department or contract those services with the county sheriff.
Citizens of Julesburg moving forward will need to bring their law enforcement needs to the
Julesburg Town Hall. It is my hope that Julesburg will bring back their Police Department ASAP
and we stand ready to help with that. Additionally, in the short term if there is a situation in
Julesburg where death or serious bodily injury is imminent, County Dispatch has been
instructed to attempt to send a deputy. I am doing this because I cannot in good conscience
allow Julesburg’s failure to cause physical harm to citizens.
I know many of you are going to be upset by this news, but please understand that this is a
decision of necessity before I burn out what little staff I have with the around the clock calls for
service with insufficient funding.
It is the challenge that I have accepted and must make hard decisions about. As such I remain
open and willing to explain to anyone who wants to email me or my Undersheriff Scott Brettell
To be transparent, the sum of funds requested for the hiring of additional deputies to each of
the Towns is Julesburg: $150,000, Ovid: $10,000, and Sedgwick: $25,000. These amounts are a
fraction of what it would cost for established police departments or what any other Sheriff’s
Office charges in Colorado. These amounts are equally divided between the Towns, based on
historical data of call volume. These IGA’s also establish the financial responsibility of any large-
scale incident to be the financial burden of the Town, when in the Town. If my Office is going to
operate in the municipalities, we must be assured that the financial risk is mitigated by an IGA,
should I need to request State and Federal resources for disasters like a tornado strike, which
goes beyond the capability of local resources.
To citizens in Ovid, Sedgwick and unincorporated Sedgwick County, this Notice does not apply to
you.
I also want to make clear that Sedgwick County is in a financial crisis and all three of our
Commissioners have my support as well as my gratitude for a good working relationship. I do
not envy the positions they are in.
In closing, I ask for your support and understanding, especially for my employees who do a lot
for as little as I can pay them. Please focus your complaints towards me and or the Town of
Julesburg. Thank you for your attention in this matter,
Koby Quayle
Sedgwick County Sheriff
KQ/kaq
