Sheriff, BOC discuss 2009 salary deficit; $950,000 increase requested in ...

But how exactly will Madison County fund its law enforcement needs over the next year as revenues dwindle?

County commissioners have asked all constitutional officers and department heads to shave five percent off of their 2010 budgets. But even that probably won’t be enough, as revenues are projected to drop eight to 10 percent next year.

Sheriff Kip Thomas has requested an increase of $950,000 in his budget for next year. But the BOC and sheriff have yet to tackle that issue.

Instead, they have a 2009 matter to iron out first.

According to county records obtained at the BOC office, the sheriff’s department is $197,682 over budget in 2009 on salaries — $137,945 for the sheriff’s department, $57,803 for the jail and $1,934 for the drug awareness program. However, figures from the sheriff’s department are different, reflecting a $181,736 salary deficit.

Either way, the money is short.

The good news is that the county’s overall salary expenses are slightly under budget for 2009, with a net surplus of $13,439. The road department shows the biggest salary savings, coming in $98,985 under budget, with EMS following at $35,795.

Exactly why the sheriff’s department is over budget for 2009 was the subject of considerable discussion recently, but the BOC never came to any firm resolution, ultimately agreeing that the matter needed more research.

Commissioner Mike Youngblood suggested that the problems appear to stem from failures by former BOC finance employees to account for funding changes.

“Numbers were put in front of us and we had enough confidence and trust in the people who put them in front of us that they were right,” said Youngblood. “Evidently they weren’t, cause those people are gone. I think whatever we have to do to straighten it out, the board will. Public safety is number one.”

The group did not discuss the broader question — what next? How will the county cover the shortfall? That matter will be addressed at a later date, though no meetings have been set.

Sheriff Thomas raised the funding issue with commissioners, saying that the salary deficit was an inherited budgeting problem, something carried over from 2008. He passed out a timeline of events, saying that as of Jan. 1 this year, when he took over office, his department was already $181,736 over budget on salaries.

According to county records at the BOC office, the sheriff’s department was over budget in 2008 by $156,990, but the jail was under budget by $44,008, leaving an overall year-end deficit of $112,982 for the sheriff’s department and jail.

Thomas suggested that the 2009 budgeting problems originated when the BOC approved raises for deputies back in February 2008, adding that no budget amendment was made to account for those raises in the 2009 budget.

Former Sheriff Clayton Lowe requested $1,087,000 for department salaries for 2009, but the BOC decided to keep the line item for department salaries steady at $950,554.

Thomas suggested that the difference in requested versus approved funds showed that the raises approved by the BOC in February last year were not accounted for in the 2009 budget.

While the commissioners kept wages steady in 2009, the board did approve an increase in sheriff’s department salaries, from $827,769 to $950,554, between 2007 and 2008.

The board had agreed to implement raises suggested in a wage study by the Carl Vinson Institute — not just for sheriff’s employees, but other county workers, too. The overall increase in county wages was expected to cost $360,000 and occur in two phases.

But last February, deputies appeared before the commissioners, noting that the raises had, in effect, reduced their pay, since the raises had been based on 80-hour pay periods, rather than 84-hour periods that they actually work.

The board agreed to adjust the deputies’ pay to account for the mistake. No specific numbers were given at the Feb. 20, 2008, meeting for the cost of the adjustment, but former county personnel coordinator Connie Riley noted at that meeting that the cost of the increases could be covered with funds from unfilled deputies’ positions.

Commission chairman Anthony Dove said it doesn’t appear that those positions were filled. He said Friday that he is unsure how the salary discrepancies appeared in this year’s sheriff’s department budget. Dove said he is trying to review all the numbers and he showed reluctance to assign blame at this point.

“From what I can determine, the raise in 2008 was supposed to be absorbed in last year’s budget,” said Dove. “It has yet to be determined why it hasn’t been for last year or this year.”

PROPOSED 2010 BUDGET

While the 2009 salary shortfall will certainly be a source of upcoming budget discussions, the BOC must also determine what to do with the sheriff’s budget in 2010. The group did not discuss next year’s budget at Thursday’s meeting.

But Thomas has requested a total increase of $952,841, with a boost of $624,013 — up from $1.5 to $2.2 million — for the sheriff’s department and an increase of $328,828 for the jail — up from $1.3 million to $1.6 million.

Thomas is requesting four new positions in the sheriff’s department, with the proposed salary line item for law enforcement increasing from $950,554 to $1,262,206. He is also requesting an additional $39,000 in overtime for the department an extra $30,000 for radars and cameras. Thomas also has included $312,000 for “capital outlay” in the sheriff’s department budget for patrol cars.

The sheriff has requested six new detention officer positions, with the jail staff budget potentially increasing by $234,291, with an additional $15,000 requested for overtime. Thomas has also requested an increase of $20,000 for housing prisoners out of the county.

No dates have been set for BOC hearings on the 2010 budget.