MOUNT VERNON — Knox County Commissioners met with Assistant Prosecutor Charles McConville on Thursday to clarify under what circumstances they may reject budget overrun appropriations from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.
According to Commissioner Allen Stockberger, Knox County Sheriff David Barber has overrun his allocated budget consistently over the last few years, then come to the commissioners just before the final pay period of the year and asked for additional funds to cover payroll.
“We just didn’t have the heart to say no and not pay all those people at Christmas,” Stockberger said.
Therefore, he said, they are taking action now to prevent a repeat scenario this year, as Barber’s $4.1 million budget has begun to show signs of coming up short.
Commissioners’ secretary Rochelle Shackle confirmed she has been calling monthly requesting that Barber meet with the commissioners to discuss budget concerns. Commissioner Robert Wise said they had not seen Barber in over four months, despite Shackle’s requests. Commissioner Tom McLarnan said he believed it was at least six months since the sheriff last came to meet with the commissioners.
“That demonstrates due diligence on your part,” McConville said.
He said that statutorily, the county is obligated to fund prisoner care and feeding as well as local and inter-regional transportation of prisoners. Everything else in the budget is meant to be negotiable, with the county commissioners as final authority. McConville added that there is a precedent of other cases within the state of Ohio where sheriff’s departments have taken county commissioners to court in attempts to force commissioners to supply perceived non-mandatory budget needs. All have failed, McConville said.
Pertaining to a pending budget transfer request from the sheriff’s office which the commissioners have not yet signed off on, Shackle asked about money transferred out of prisoner care account and into the payroll account. Would that give the sheriff grounds to come back at the end of the year and say that his department is short in a mandatory area, thus forcing the county to pay?
“You obviously have an obligation to fund prisoner care, but only at the level of its actual use,” McConville told the commissioners. This means that the commissioners could deny a budget-overrun appropriation if previously adequate levels of mandatory funding were later diverted.
Wise said he recently faxed a news article to Barber to encourage him to rent excess capacity at the jail as a way to help defray expenses.
“He gets 100 percent of bed rental income if he rents space to other counties,” Wise said.
Wise said he has heard no communication back from the sheriff to know if this is being done or even being considered.
“We’re trying to give him incentives, which is really difficult to do in life, and is nearly impossible in government,” Stockberger said.
“Are we acting appropriately if we say [to the sheriff] ‘The fact that you have chosen to disregard standard management practices that other county offices are required to adhere to is not the county commissioners’ responsibility,’” Stockberger asked.
He pointed out that this situation was very different from the recent advancement of funds for overruns to the Knox County Board of Elections, which was over budget this year due to unfunded mandates from the state of Ohio, whereas Barber’s overruns are due to his choices and his management style.
McConville said that aside from the mandatory prisoner care and transportation areas, the sheriff cannot force the county to advance further funds.
“There’s no legal right that they have to come back and ask for more money,” McConville said.
The commissioners decided to draft a letter to Barber expressing their concern about the pending transfer of $40,000 within his budget and to request once more that he meet with them. McConville agreed to review the letter as the county’s legal counsel before it was sent.
