BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — Who should be spending out-of-county inmate housing revenue and for what purpose was confronted during a county commission budget workshop with Sheriff Gordon Smith last week.
In 2009, Smith came to an agreement with the commission over the use of revenue generated by housing inmates for the U.S. Marshals and other out-of-county inmates. The revenue would be set aside in a special fund, and Smith would use the funds collected to accomplish repairs and modernization in the jail and safety complex, including communications, as well as catastrophic inmate health care expenses.
Spending requests from the fund were approved by the county commission, and unspent funds remained in the set aside account where they continued to accumulate.
In 2017, Smith returned to the commission seeking to retain half of the housing revenue for discretionary spending. The primary intended use of the revenue was always for law enforcement. Smith claims these funds have kept him from seeking budget increases from the commission.
Accounting for these funds and the lack of timeliness for budget amendments reflecting new revenue and expenditures meant auditors were making significant end-of-year adjustments and noting this in the sheriff’s audit. This is further complicated by the fact that payment from the U.S. Marshals is delayed around two months, so some revenue is received after the end of the fiscal year.
At one point, a former commissioner suggested that the sheriff keep all the revenue since his office is earning it, but Smith cannot retain any of the fees he keeps and must turn any unspent revenue over to the commission. Smith said the goal was to save, not spend it all each year.
The auditor suggested greater coordination with the clerk’s office, and following completion of the 2021 audit, Smith suggested estimating the amount of revenue that will be earned and spent when building his budget to avoid the need for excessive budget amendments. Any unspent revenue would still be turned over to the commission at the end of the year.
Auditors have also noted the spending of fund balances by the county commission to balance the budget and pay for the rising cost of public services. While considering new revenue sources, the commission has also tapped the jail set aside revenue to pay for things like equipment for public works and employee pay raises.
Commission Chair Diane Andrews has questioned why the county has spent from its reserves while the housing revenue sits in a fund and isn’t used to balance the budget.
During the budget workshop, she wanted to the 2009 agreement that is no longer being followed, discuss it and make needed changes.
There were apparently bad feelings related to an email from Andrews to the county manager that stated jail personnel were already being paid to house inmates and she didn’t understand why the commission had to lose half of the proceeds. She went on to question whether there was documentation that a prior board agreed to allow the sheriff to retain 50% of the inmate housing revenue.
Smith pointed out that corrections staff are among the lowest paid public safety employees in the county, and if there is conflict over his budget with the commission, that is something he can appeal.
“We do have to fight to make sure they have what they need to keep our community safe,” Smith said. He continued to advocate for saving the revenue if it didn’t need to be spent if enough was being spent to keep the community safe.
Andrews said it can be called a jail set aside fund, but it is the county’s money, and when money is spent from there for whatever purpose, it results in a budget increase — including for the sheriff’s use of those funds. Failing to show that was noted by the auditors.
She also said her words were not meant to offend any employee, and she apologized. But she said the sheriff had pointed out it was up to the commission to find the money and balance its budget. That’s what she is trying to do.
Smith said he hasn’t objected to the commission using funds as necessary if some money was being saved. Just as he rejected the idea of turning over all the proceeds to his office, he didn’t want to see them absorbed into the county’s budget.
He also has goals of his own. Corrections employees are worth as much as deputies, Smith said, and they should be receiving equal pay. He wants to continuing being able to use the funds he needs and turn the rest over to the commission.
Otherwise, he said, the county can keep all the revenue and raise his budget to what it should have been for years.
Andrews said the commission has always worked with him and his employees to provide what was needed.
“I don’t want these people to think that what we’re saying is we’re going to take all that money and we’re not going to give you nothing. Nothing could be further from the truth,” she said.
Despite misconceptions and implications, Andrews said, the commission is simply talking about the facts. The county may have been in a better financial position when the original agreement was made, but today, it’s hard to talk about taking millions of dollars out of reserve funding to balance the budget when the housing revenue is there.
There was also talk of placing the money that has been saved in interest bearing accounts.
Commissioner Chris Dougherty said he is fine with things as they have been, with both the sheriff and the board using the funds as needed, but also with foresight that money will eventually be needed for further maintenance and upkeep at the jail.
“At the end of the day, like sheriff said, if we don’t continue to house the inmates, at some point it’s not going to be there, and then we’ll be looking for another revenue stream like we’re currently doing now just to be able to provide the services to the citizens of Bradford County,” he said, adding if they look for other sources of revenue, they wouldn’t have to touch the set aside funds at all.
There was further talk of how the funds should be accounted for to comply with the auditor’s recommendations. Clerk Denny Thompson said he would reach out to the county’s new accounting firm, James Moore, for a recommendation.
