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Williamson County Sheriff moves off-duty scheduling and payment to county payroll
Summary
The commission approved a master service approach to manage off-duty special-duty work and shift administration to Williamson County payroll to improve liability coverage, tax withholding and transparency while maintaining customer-funded model.
The Williamson County Budget Committee on Jan. 26 approved a resolution to bring management of off-duty special-duty assignments under county payroll rather than leave scheduling and payments solely to an external vendor.
Sheriff’s Office leaders described problems with prior vendor arrangements where liability and coverage disputes arose. The sheriff said, "They will be handled through Williamson County payroll. They will still be funded by the customer, the person who hires the deputy, but we will be adequately compensated for administrative cost." The measure was framed as protecting employees and the county while preserving the customer-funded nature of special-duty work.
Staff explained the shift will result in front-end tax withholding (so deputies are taxed at time of payment rather than reported later) and that an exception in federal Fair Labor Standards Act rules allows the county to elect not to credit those payments toward Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) compensation, avoiding added pension costs. The sheriff’s office said administrative costs and a vendor percentage will be built into charges to customers.
Commissioners discussed whether the changes would affect retirement credit or raise costs for customers; county staff and the sheriff confirmed the policy as drafted will avoid generating additional TCRS obligations. The resolution passed unanimously 4-0.
The committee also approved related housekeeping items from the Sheriff’s Office, including surplus declarations for two weapons and an equipment rental agreement to place a fingerprint machine at the courthouse to improve booking efficiency.
