ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION

Richard E. (Dick) Searles
Comptroller/Director of Administration
email: dick.searles@kentoncounty.org

The Administrative Division of the Kenton County Sheriff's Office is responsible for the processing of all court papers that are received by the Sheriff's Office. The division is also responsible for the administration of permits to carry concealed deadly weapons. They prepare and administer annual budgets for the Sheriff's Office, as well as prepare the payroll for all Sheriff personnel. Their primary responsibility, however, is the annual collection and distribution of real estate and franchise taxes in excess of eighty million dollars ($ 80,000,000.00). For the tax year 2003, $ 82,000,000.00 in taxes were collected and distributed with a net, audited difference of 63 cents.  A record unmatched by any Sheriff's Office in the State of Kentucky.

The Administrative Division is headed up by Richard E. Searles. Dick, as he likes to be called, is a graduate of Southeastern Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management and a Minor in Accounting. In addition, he has taken postgraduate courses in both Business Administration and Criminal Justice. Dick spent thirty-two years in the business world, having worked for two International Fortune 500 companies. After retiring from Clarion Manufacturing Corporation of America as Vice President of Operations and operating his own private consulting business, Dick decided he would like to pursue a new career in law enforcement, so he joined the Kenton County Sheriff's Office. Dick and his team of loyal and dedicated members of the Administrative Division are always looking for ways that they can streamline the day-to-day operations of the Sheriff's Office, save taxpayer's money and provide more efficient service to the taxpaying public.

Dick and his wife Louise have two grown children and reside in Edgewood.