Board accepts responses to Grand Jury on sheriff overtime; Workday payroll phase targeted for 2028

Santa Barbara County staff presented the Board with proposed responses to the Grand Jury—s report on sheriff overtime and said multiple steps are underway to improve oversight and reporting.

Nicole Parmalee of the CEO—s office summarized actions already taken, including a revised Deputy Sheriffs Association memorandum of understanding (MOU) that removes certain leave types from overtime computation, sets an annual cap of 1,300 overtime hours, limits comp time accrual to 120 hours and requires periodic comp‑time cash‑outs. The board also heard that the county will accelerate improvements to data tracking and aims to implement the payroll/HR phase of Workday (phase 2) with procurement in fall 2026, a vendor contract early next year and a target go‑live around mid‑2028.

Sheriff—s Office representatives said reducing unnecessary overtime will be a multi‑year effort tied to staffing and operational needs; the Sheriff noted that in many cases overtime remains less costly than creating additional full‑time positions. The board unanimously approved staff—s recommended responses A–C and asked for continued audit reporting. "We're still gonna be over," the Sheriff said in explaining that some overtime expenditures will likely continue but should be better controlled and documented. The Board asked for follow‑up monthly reports from the auditor and an internal audit of overtime practices planned for the FY 2026–27 internal audit plan.