DELAWARE COUNTY — The Delaware County Commissioners again tabled the sheriff's budget proposal, which included staff raises.
Despite the tabling, the commissioners and sheriff hope to resolve everything soon.
When Sheriff James Beck lost re-election to his opponent Ray Thomas, a state statute went into effect.
The statute protects the incoming elected officials and the budget with which they will have to work.
In this case, Sheriff Beck can only use 50% of the department's budget from July 1 through Dec. 31.
The other 50% will be left over for Thomas once he's sworn in as sheriff.
When Sheriff Beck submitted his budget proposal to the county commissioners, including staff pay raises, legal help was required.
Over the last several weeks the budget proposal kept getting pushed back leading to frustration with the sheriff and staff who expected raises.
"I've clearly presented the numbers from the charts," said Sheriff Beck at the Sept. 24 Board of Commissioners meeting.
Beck said he does his own budgeting and knows how much money the department can spend.
The concern was whether his budget would exceed his allotted 50%.
The department does not have hard numbers for the rest of the year, but it based its estimates on last year's numbers.
But week after week, it seemed to get nowhere, according to Sheriff Beck.
2 News asked County Commissioner David Poindexter about the process being drawn out.
"It's a little frustrating, but I think now that there's a consensus about where we're at. I don't think it will be much longer at this point," he said.
He said it's important to follow every step and ensure everything is legally sound to protect the taxpayers and the county.
However, with the issues still not resolved, Sheriff Beck didn't want to go on camera, but we spoke privately. He gave 2 News permission to summarize some of the conversation.
He said his staff deserves the raises. Many of those who would get the raises work a lot of extra hours and aren't subject to overtime.
He said he presented the board with a sustainable budget through the end of his term in December. He said he overestimated costs based on last year's spending to guarantee the funds for raises are there.
He said Tuesday's meeting seemed to gain some ground.
"I think it's important to get it resolved," said Commissioner Jake Callihan.
The county commissioners are holding a special meeting and look to approve or deny the budget on Sept. 26 at 2 p.m.
2 News will keep you updated with its decision.
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