Riley County finance reports: overtime, off‑panel legal costs and rising jail medical expenses draw attention

Riley County Clerk Rich Barr presented year‑to‑date budget reports to commissioners on April 14, highlighting departmental overtime, special fund activity and continuing concerns about jail medical expenditures.

Barr said overall overtime usage was low (about 1.4% at the time of the report) but noted certain departments (Noxious Weed, Public Works and community corrections) have higher seasonal or emergency-related overtime. He pointed to the county’s budget stabilization fund of $4,250,000, kept unusually low on department pages because it is held in county general reserves.

A sustained portion of the briefing focused on medical and off‑site inmate expenses at the Riley County Law Enforcement Center. Barr said the county is statutorily obligated to provide inmate medical care and that prescription and psychotropic medication costs have risen; he warned physician fees and prescriptions could exceed 2024 levels if current trends continue. He said the county covers 100% of facility and inmate medical expenses for the Law Enforcement Center, without city or other local contributions.

The clerk also discussed use of off‑panel attorneys (legal services outside contracted panels), which contributed to budget overruns. Commissioners and staff noted new defense-panel contracts are intended to reduce off‑panel expenditures over time, but transitional costs remained in the current budget.

Barr and commissioners discussed whether Medicaid reimbursements were appearing in vendor reports; he said reports supplied by the medical vendor (ACH) no longer consistently show Medicaid offsets and that the county would request additional detail if needed. Commissioners referenced prior legislative work by Commissioner Mike Kearns that enabled counties to collect Medicaid-rate reimbursements for inmate medical care; Barr said those steps should help reduce expenses where applicable.

The commission asked for clarity on several lines in the budget spreadsheets (some formula or labeling errors were noted) and staff said they would correct presentation errors and provide follow-up details about Medicaid billing, physician fees and off‑panel legal costs.

The reports were presented for review; no direct appropriation or policy change was approved in the briefing. Commissioners asked staff to return with clarifications as budget season continues.