At Thursday’s meeting, Scioto County Commissioners refused to approve new contracts for Deputies, Corrections Staff, Sergeants, Dispatchers, and Scioto County Jail cooks. However, they said there was a good reason they said no. “We have these new contracts in front of us. When you start looking at the piece of the pie and the general fund, the Sheriff’s Office makes up over 40% of our budget,” Commissioner Scottie Powell said, “Anything that hits that office has a much greater impact on the budget than any other office.”
“I don’t want to comment on the contract itself,” Powell said. “But I do want to give a little color to the motions I’m going to be making.”
Powell said that last year, area officials had attended a retreat with commissioners to talk about budgets and that they had requested that officials hold the line on budgets. He said tax revenue for 2024 was still questionable and was tracking down from the previous year. “At that point, we had a lot of budgetary requests. I think over $9 million more than what the budget commission gave us to work with.” He emphasized that commissioners aren’t on the budget commission. “That’s made up of the treasurer, auditor, and prosecutor. They give us a dollar amount we have to operate with. At this point, I’m going to have to make a motion that we decline the contract and send it back to the Sheriff.”
Commissioners Powell and Bryan Davis both declined to accept the contract. Commissioner Cathy Coleman was not at the meeting.
“Not only do we have to be mindful of the county’s budget,” Powell said, “but also what can the townships and the schools absorb.”
Viewers watching the meeting on social media were not happy with the vote. One commented, “You guys might want to start looking for jobs. I’m pretty sure we’re going to vote you out. Back the blue!”
Another commenter said. “It is not uncommon for them to run with two deputies covering the entire county. This is one of the largest counties by area in Ohio and running on a skeleton crew because of your “budget.” Don’t worry. We’ll remember when your names are on the ballots.”