Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council renews approved uses for Allen County Sheriff's commissary fund, 4-2 vote
Summary
Sheriff Troy Hershberger won council approval to renew the jail commissary resolution defining allowed expenditures; the measure passed 4-2 after discussion about statutory breadth of permitted uses.
The Allen County Council renewed the annual jail commissary resolution Jan. 7, approving a written set of permitted uses for commissary funds the sheriff's office collects.
Sheriff Troy Hershberger said the renewal maintains transparency and does not change past practice. Councilmember Tom Harris moved for consideration; after brief discussion and a question about statutory vagueness from Councilmember Kenny Fries, the council voted to renew the resolution by a 4-2 margin with Fries and Vice President Lyndsey Hammond recorded as opposed.
Fries said he remained concerned that state statute is broadly worded and could allow discretionary spending by the sheriff. "I don't like the fact that we just give carte blanche all year long to say, 'Spend it for whatever you want it for.'" Hershberger said the resolution maintains the transparency framework established in prior years.
