FAYETTEVILLE — Washington County Sheriff’s Office detectives and deputies assigned to special details will get overtime wages from reimbursement payments given to the county from a variety of local, state and federal sources, officials said.
The Quorum Court approved using $20,000 Thursday to pay for overtime for those law enforcement personnel, said Jay Cantrell, chief deputy sheriff.
That’s out of $51,317 in reimbursement payments deposited this year into the county’s general fund from the 4th Judicial District Drug Task Force, the Arkansas State Police, and federal agencies, such as the Drug Enforcement Agency and the FBI, according to records from the Treasurer’s Office.
At A Glance
Drug Task Force
The 4th Judicial District Drug Task Force is a multiagency cooperative focusing on drug enforcement efforts in Washington County. The group is made up of investigators from the Fayetteville, Springdale, University of Arkansas, Prairie Grove, West Fork, Johnson, Lincoln, Greenland, Farmington, Elm Springs and Elkins police departments and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Source: Staff Report
“There’s not a penny of county money that does not have to be recognized and this is what this ordinance reflects,” said Candy Clark, justice of the peace.
The Sheriff’s Office assigns detectives a DEA task force, an FBI terrorism task force and a U.S. Department of Homeland Security task force and the local drug task force, Cantrell said. Those entities help pay overtime costs to detectives and deputies, he said.
Other deputies get overtime by working special details looking for drunken drivers or people not wearing seat belts, Cantrell said. That overtime is paid from reimbursements by the state police’s Selective Traffic Enforcement Program.
The $20,000 will be added to the $75,000 budget for overtime in the Sheriff’s Office 2013 budget, Cantrell said. The remaining $31,317 from the original $51,317 received from reimbursements will remain for general fund use, he added.
The general fund keeps money for the spending of other county departments and officials, such as the County Judge’s Office, Treasurer’s Office, Assessor’s Office and Coroner’s Office.
“We’re moving money around,” Clark said.
Cantrell said one Sheriff’s Office detective is assigned to the local drug task force, which contributes to the county’s general fund.
The 4th Judicial District Drug Task Force is primarily paid for by the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant. The money allows states and local governments to support a broad range of activities, control crime and improve the criminal justice system.
According to the group’s October report, the drug task force has made 137 arrests and seized $24,969 in assets, such as cash, this year. The group has seized 62 grams of cocaine, 1,744 ounces of marijuana, two methamphetamine labs and 3.2 grams of methamphetamine, among other drugs, the report said.