Fayette County approves concept for municipal patrol MOU; seeks policy to set neutral reimbursement rate

Fayette County Commissioners on July 9 approved the concept of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would allow county deputies to be assigned to municipalities for special coverage, with the municipalities reimbursing the county at a rate designed to be "net neutral" to county coffers. The commission approved the concept and asked staff and counsel to draft a formal policy with specific hourly rates and parameters.

The MOU discussion focused on overtime exposure and who would pay overtime when county deputies work additional hours for a municipality. County staff and counsel said municipalities should reimburse overtime if an assignment pushes a deputy into overtime. Staff described a reimbursement approach used by other counties that calculates the full cost to the county — base pay plus employer contributions — and charges municipalities that per‑hour rate so the county neither loses nor gains money on the assignment.

County staff said the intent is not to provide routine municipal coverage but to supply deputies for special events or to temporarily staff a municipality that lacks a local police force. As staff put it, "This is not for normal coverage ... This is any special event or any special request" and "it would be in addition to any sort of regular shift that they would be working." The staff discussion used a hypothetical example (an illustrative $90 per hour figure) to show how the reimbursement rate could be calculated; staff noted the dollar figure was illustrative only.

Commissioners asked staff to produce a formal policy and rate calculation. One commissioner moved to "approve the policy and concept, pending draft from our council." The motion passed on a voice vote. Commissioners directed staff to return with a draft MOU and a recommended hourly reimbursement rate designed to create a net‑neutral outcome for the county and to include parameters for when municipalities must pay overtime.

Staff noted that some counties add vehicle or equipment charges and that a few jurisdictions attempt to recover more than direct costs; Fayette County’s stated direction was to calculate a neutral rate that covers employer contributions and the deputy’s hourly cost. County counsel and staff will finalize the draft policy for a future commission vote.