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Scott County Council discusses judge's order authorizing sheriff-related payments; auditor confirms payments underway
Summary
At a Jan. 23 special meeting the Scott County Council discussed a December court order directing the county auditor to make expenditures to support sheriff operations; Auditor Jennifer confirmed the office has received the order and is making payments while council members reviewed which funds will cover the costs.
At a Jan. 23 special meeting, the Scott County Council discussed a December court order from Judge Glickfield directing the Scott County auditor to make certain expenditures to keep the sheriff's operations running.
Auditor Jennifer confirmed she had the order and that the county is moving to pay the expenses the judge identified. The order includes a 45-day authorization for the sheriff's office and lists specific amounts for categories the judge authorized: $15,000 for fuel and transportation, $12,000 for part-time road officer salaries and $50,000 for part-time correctional officer salaries.
The council noted the statute on meeting procedure that requires the auditor to call a meeting within three working days when the auditor is to make an expenditure that has not been appropriated. A council member said the requirement prompted the special meeting so the council could formally note the order and the auditor's planned payments.
Council members and staff discussed which funds would be used to pay the items. Jennifer said the county had been paying the part-time personnel from the general fund while the office determined an appropriate source. The group debated whether some items could be charged to special-purpose funds, public safety allocations or the general fund.
One council member urged that staff review balances in the Public Safety fund before finalizing transfers, noting that some of the sheriff-related amounts would have to come from either the Public Safety fund or the general fund if they cannot be charged to special-purpose accounts.
Council members agreed to leave the payments in place while staff pulls fund balances and returns with a recommendation on which funds to charge. The transcript does not record a formal vote on fund transfers or a final tally of any vote on the court-ordered payments.
The discussion also noted the judge's authority over the county's course of action; as one council member put it, the council would be "overruled by the judge" if the order required payment regardless of internal appropriations.
The matter overlapped with other pending budget work: council members asked for fund-balance reporting and said they would review where to move charges once full figures were available.
The council moved on to other agenda items after the exchange.
