Watch: Lexington Co. Sheriff Reflects on First Year

Lexington Co., S.C. (WOLO) — Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon says “Busy” sums up his first year in office.

Following the four decade reign of former Lexington Sheriff James Metts, Koon wanted to bring the office back to the basics.

Koon tells ABC Columbia, “We owe it to our citizens and customers to keep a customer service mindset so that’s been the theme for the past year.”

He continues, “Our priority is answering these calls for service so pretty much immediately last year we reassigned 6 people from other areas to actual answer calls on the streets.”

Looking ahead the Sheriff is working to improve the department’s $42 million budget.

He plans on Saving $700,000 by making changes like grounding the helicopter program and shifting the payment of school resource officers.

“Currently it was a 50/50 split where they pay half and we pay half and we’re looking to shift so that they pay 75 and we pay 25,” says Koon.

As a trend in property theft persists in the ever growing area Koon recognizes there’s still work to be done.

He explains, “Nothing else matters if you don’t feel safe.”