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Board approves roughly $4.3 million supplemental for sheriff's shortfalls; overtime and workers' comp cited
Summary
The board passed an ordinance appropriating approximately $4.3 million in surplus revenues and general fund reserve to cover shortfalls in the Sheriff's Department for fiscal 2012–13, with Supervisor Farrell saying the main drivers were unexpected workers' compensation claims and overtime tied to staffing vacancies.
The Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance appropriating approximately $4,300,000 in surplus revenues, expenditures and general‑fund reserve to cover shortfalls in the Sheriff's Department for fiscal year 2012–13.
Supervisor Farrell, who discussed the item on the floor, said the supplemental request was the third of the budget season and stemmed from two primary causes: unanticipated large workers' compensation claims and overtime driven by the department's inability to fill vacant positions.
Farrell said the budget analysts recommended measures that reduced the general‑fund impact by about $181,000, leaving approximately $3,200,000 to come from the general‑fund reserve. He said he met with Sheriff Mark Reimey and the city's CFO to address the department's issues and that the focus should be on next year's budget to resolve structural shortfalls.
"The reason for the supplemental were twofold. 1, unknown workers' compensation costs due to a few big claims that were not predicted last year as well as overtime costs due largely in part to the fact that they were unable to fill vacant positions," Farrell said.
The ordinance passed on first reading by same‑house, same‑call; the transcript does not record a full roll‑call tally for item 19.
Why it matters: The appropriation increases city support for the Sheriff's Department in the current fiscal year to cover unanticipated liabilities, and supervisors signaled intent to address staffing and budgeting to reduce similar shortfalls in future budgets.
