The Osage County Sheriff’s Office has been operating very lean, especially when considering the effects of inflation. When comparing the budget spending power between fiscal year 2013-2014 and fiscal year 2022-2023, and adjusting for an estimated annual inflation rate of 2%, the figures show a significant decrease in spending power. In 2013-2014, the spending power for the OCSO was roughly $7,087,117.11 when adjusted for 2023 dollars. However, the actual spend in 2022-2023 was only $4,417,284.89, indicating a substantial decrease in purchasing power. This illustrates the budget struggles the OCSO is facing and emphasizes the need for increased funding to maintain the same level of service and operations.
To compare the budget spending power between fiscal year 2013-2014 and fiscal year 2022-2023, adjusting for an estimated annual inflation rate of 2%, we will use the Purchasing Power formula shown here:
( Current Value = Past Value \times (1 + Inflation Rate)^{Number of Years} )
To make it clear:
Past Value = Spending in FY 2013-2014
Inflation Rate = 2% or 0.02
Number of Years = 2023 – 2014 = 9 years
Let’s calculate the adjusted spending of FY 2013-2014 to 2023 dollars:
Spending in FY 2013-2014: $5,918,636.18
Adjusted for 2% inflation over 9 years: ( Adjusted Spend = 5,918,636.18 \times (1 + 0.02)^9 ) ( Adjusted Spend \approx 5,918,636.18 \times (1.02)^9 ) ( Adjusted Spend \approx 5,918,636.18 \times 1.197990 ) ( Adjusted Spend \approx $7,087,117.11 )
Now for FY 2022-2023, we won’t adjust the spending since it is already in 2023 dollars:
Spending in FY 2022-2023: $4,417,284.89
To summarize the comparison:
The initial spending in FY 2013-2014 was $5,918,636.18.
Adjusting for inflation, this amount would be roughly equivalent to $7,087,117.11 in 2023.
In FY 2022-2023, the actual spending was $4,417,284.89.
Comparing these two figures shows that in 2023, the spending power is significantly lower than it was in 2013-2014 when adjusted for inflation. The spend in FY 2022-2023 would need to be higher than $7,087,117.11 to have the same purchasing power as in FY 2013-2014.
* Actual Inflation from 2014 to 2023 = 2.72%
(We used 2% in the above formula to keep it simple)