Cleveland County sued by sheriff
Cleveland County Sheriff Joe Lester, apparently not satisfied with recent efforts by budget board members to help him meet a funding crisis for the county jail, has filed a civil lawsuit against the Board of County Commissioners, claiming commissioners are in violation of state law by not fully funding the detention center.
In the lawsuit, Lester says he faces a $1.1 million shortfall this fiscal year that ends July 1 and that he is being forced to use funds from his public safety operational budget to shore up the detention center budget.
Commissioners have a constitutional duty to fully fund the jail without the sheriff having to dip into public safety funds, Lester contends.
“This unlawful refusal to fund the detention center is creating a public safety crisis in Cleveland County,” Lester states in the lawsuit filed late Thursday in Cleveland County District Court.
Commissioners have set an executive session for Monday, presumably to discuss the lawsuit.
Commissioner Rod Cleveland said the budget board, which includes the commissioners and the sheriff, has been working to help Lester solve his budget problems. With this lawsuit, “the sheriff is essentially suing himself,” Cleveland said.
Cleveland said the sheriff has not clearly shown what kind of shortfall he is facing.
“We keep hearing different figures. First, it was $1.5 million. Then, we heard $1.3 million, and now in this lawsuit he says $1.1 million. We are trying to do our best, but he needs to show us more clearly where he is short,” Cleveland said.
In a recent budget board meeting, members authorized a transfer of $350,000 from the sheriff’s operational budget into jail operations to help the sheriff meet payroll.
In the lawsuit, Lester says the county needs to reimburse him for that amount and that it is the commissioners duty to fund the jail from a separate detention county fund, without him having to use money from other sheriff department accounts.
Cleveland said the jail gets reimbursement from cities and the Department of Corrections to pay for housing some inmates and that a portion of the county’s ad valorem taxes goes to the jail. A one quartercent sales tax also is dedicated to jail funding.
Cleveland also contends there are cash accounts in the sheriff’s department that the sheriff could use to help with the county jail budget.
“We don’t use those cash accounts for budgeting purposes ... but they can be used for lawful purposes,” the commissioner said.
“We’re trying to fund the jail without breaking the budget for the rest of the county,” Cleveland said.
Lester contends in the lawsuit that county officials have underfunded the jail since 2012.
In 2012, the sheriff states, he requested $7.8 million to run the jail and received $4 million; in 2013, he asked for $8.2 million and received $3.1 million; in 2014, he requested $7.5 million and got $3.2 million; in 2015, he asked for $5.4 million and received $3.2 million; in 2015, he asked for $5.4 million and got $3.2 million; and in 2016 the sheriff asked for $7.6 million and got $2.4 million.
The sheriff is asking the court to enjoin commissioners from forcing him to use funds from other accounts to pay for the jail’s operation and for an injunction ordering commissioners to fully fund the jail.
Commissioners, the lawsuit states, “have no right to require the sheriff to include cash funds as recurring revenue in computing the annual budget.” Lester asks that the court fine commissioners “in an amount not to exceed $500” to be paid into the county treasury if they do not fully fund the jail.
In a budget board meeting, Lester said it takes about $20,000 a day to operate the jail. So far this month, he said, the jail has averaged 559 inmates a day. The sheriff said he is required to house, feed and meet the medical needs of inmates.
Carol Dillingham, attorney for the county commissioners, said she could not comment on the lawsuit. No court date has been set yet, she said, adding, “This lawsuit will just have to make its way through the system like any other lawsuit. We have a policy of not commenting on pending litigation.”
Attorney Michael Denton, of Mustang, is representing the sheriff in the lawsuit.