BENTONVILLE — Benton County’s justices of the peace Tuesday recommended adding $300,000 for overtime pay to the Sheriff’s Office budget for 2013.
Sheriff Kelley Cradduck told the Committee of the Whole he’s been working under the budget prepared by Keith Ferguson, his predecessor in office, and the additional money is needed to allow his office to continue doing the work they have done so far this year.
“We’re producing more with less people,” he said.
Cradduck gave the justices of the peace details on Sheriff’s Office activity, with most categories showing significant increases. According to Cradduck, the number of arrests is up 86 percent from 2012. Traffic stops are up 140 percent, the felony warrants served are up 42 percent, guns seized are up 133 percent and methamphetamine seized is up 985 percent.
He said his officers have been involved in a number of major investigations requiring them to put in a great deal of time.
“The bottom line is these things take time and I have to pay the people to do it,” Cradduck said.
The appropriation will be considered by the Quorum Court at its Nov. 21 meeting.
The mounting overtime bill came to light during the Nov. 5 Finance Committee meeting. The justices of the peace receive a monthly report on the fund balances of the different departments. The Sheriff’s Office budget for personnel was over budget by a few percentage points. When the justices of the peace asked for a detailed accounting, they were presented with a report showing an extra $300,000 is needed for the Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office and County Jail are the two largest departments and so a small percentage increase translated into a larger amount than it would in smaller departments, according to Sarah Daniels, comptroller. According to the county, the Sheriff’s Office budget for 2013 was $7,592,551 with personnel costs of $5,921,051 making up 78 percent. The Sheriff’s Office had $206,703 budgeted for overtime in the 2013 budget, making overtime about 3.5 percent of the personnel budget.
Mike Crandall, accounting manager, said the Sheriff’s Office personnel costs were at 85 percent of the total budget for 2013 at the end of October. Crandall said he calculated the Sheriff’s Office already was $109,000 ahead in overtime paid. At the end of October, most accounts should be at 83 percent of the annual total if they are spent on a roughly equal monthly basis, he said.
Barb Ludwig, human resources manager, told justices of the peace a $45,173 payout was attributable to turnover in the higher ranks at the beginning of the year when several of the former administration’s higher ranking officers left and were paid for vacation and comp time.
According to a breakdown of overtime costs by position presented to justices of the peace, the overtime paid varied from $18,929 for one sergeant position down to $19 for one deputy position. Cradduck said much of that discrepancy is explained through the choices of the deputies involved. Many of the programs that offer overtime are voluntary and some of his employees choose to participate and some don’t, he said.
Daniels said the county plans for overtime based on department history and input from elected officials regarding expected changes. For 2014, she said, the overtime cost for the Sheriff’s Office has been increased to $284,576 in the budget.
Cradduck sparred with the justices of the peace over some of their questions and comments about being surprised by the overtime, saying it’s “frustrating to find out when it comes out in quips and quotes in the newspaper.”
Cradduck told Barry Moehring, justice of the peace for District 15, “You should take some accountability for not knowing it,” when Moehring said the size of the overtime pay surprised him.
“My concern is we had a $300,000 request at Finance. That’s a lot of money this late in the year,” Moehring said of the overtime bill.
Moehring said he will want regular reports on overtime in the future. Moehring said the departments have to work within the budget or bring any problems to the Quorum Court in a timely manner.
“What I’m unhappy with is at the last meeting we had a report that there was a $300,000 overage,” Moehring said. “If all the departments went over, we wouldn’t be able to operate.”
Cradduck said his department is reimbursed for some overtime through various grants and other programs. Daniels said the county has received about $107,000 in reimbursement so far in 2013 and Cradduck promised to provide a more detailed accounting of the reimbursement programs.
The justices of the peace also recommended approving $404,268 for Christmas bonuses for employees. Of that, $308,599 is being transferred from the health insurance fund to the general fund. The remaining $95,699 is coming from other funds.
Ludwig said the health fund needs to maintains about a $1.7 million balance, which it has, and the money needed to provide the $500 Christmas bonuses could be taken out of excess money accumulated in recent years. According to the proposal, full-time employees will receive a $500 on Dec. 6. Part-time employees will receive a $250 bonus.