Commissioners ask sheriff to explain law-enforcement fund after unbudgeted inmate-housing receipts surface
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Summary
County commissioners said they found inmate-housing and related reimbursements not reflected in earlier budget drafts and will require the sheriff and his finance adviser to appear at the next meeting to explain the fund's accounting and legal status.
Bourbon County commissioners asked the sheriff and the sheriff's financial adviser to appear at the board's next meeting after staff discovered several hundred thousand dollars in inmate-housing receivables that were not included in earlier budget drafts.
County staff briefed the board that the sheriff's office has brought in substantial housing and related reimbursement revenue this year; those receipts were posted to a law-enforcement fund that has been carried separately in county accounting. At least one commissioner and the county clerk said that, under county accounting practice and some interpretations of statute, those receipts normally flow to the general fund and are not held in a separate, discretionary account unless the board has approved that arrangement.
The clerk asked county counsel to draft a short, one-page resolution that would clarify whether the board formally recognizes the law-enforcement fund and the authority for housing revenues to remain in a separate fund. Commissioners agreed to delay any transfer or reallocation of the receipts until the sheriff and the sheriff's finance adviser brief the board and the county attorney and auditing staff can confirm legal and accounting treatment.
Commissioners emphasized they want the sheriff to explain how the revenue has been used to date and whether any liabilities or encumbrances already attach to the funds. The clerk and county staff said they will prepare documentation and transaction histories for the sheriff's review before the meeting so the board can make an informed decision.
