In this case, the fourth vote count was the charm.

After apparently losing on Election Night by four votes, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department levy officially passed Wednesday by three votes, following a hand recount of all the county ballots.

The tally was 3,118 in favor and 3,115 opposed.

The four-year, 15-mill levy will raise $393,497 annually for the department.

“I’m feeling some relief,” said Sheriff Craig Doolittle, when he heard the news Wednesday.

However, the money won’t be available until next year’s budget, he said.

Doolittle said his first priority is hiring and equipping a new deputy, so the department can continue to provide prompt response to calls. The number of dispatch calls has been steadily climbing as the county’s population grows, said Doolittle.

“We’ve already surpassed the number of calls we had last year by 500,” he said.

And that, he added, is with close to six weeks remaining in the year.

Monday’s recount is the final one that can be requested on the levy vote, said Clerk and Recorder Bonnie Ramey.

But the fate of the ballot measure has seesawed in the past 16 days.

After apparently losing on Election Night, with a tally of 3,108 opposed to 3,104 in favor, it squeezed out a one-vote victory the following Monday when the provisional ballots were counted. The tally moved to 3,116 for and 3,115 opposed.

Because of the one-vote margin, Ramey requested a vote recount on Nov. 12 of Boulder precinct 3 and Cardwell precinct 8, because each precinct had a one-ballot discrepancy between the number of ballots cast and the number the vote machine tallied.

The levy also won that recount, 3,117 to 3,116.

The final recount of all the county ballots was held after a citizen, Danny Burget of Whitehall, submitted a petition Friday that was signed by 10 citizens requesting the recount.

Reporter Marga Lincoln: 447-4074 or marga.lincoln@helenair.com