KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Last year’s budget numbers show the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office went half a million dollars over budget.
Sheriff Richard Fuller says late medical bills, turnover in their finance department, and the loss of discounts from local medical providers all contributed to the overspending.
“There was a 2% increase in the budget last year due to the fact that there were medical expenses that were necessary. We, by law, pay for inmates’ protections for their health, and of course it’s not only by law but it’s the right thing to do. There was an expense in acquiring our own nursing team and last year we went through a lot of different personnel so there were a lot of uniform expenses that were not in the budget,” Sheriff Fuller explained.
The Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners learned about the overspending in late April and discussed the issue during their most recent virtual board meeting.
Administrator Tracey Moored says overall it was bad timing.
“It’s really unfortunate that we’re going to have to go through all of this additional work because we’re in the middle of a pandemic. The 2020 budget cuts are coming,” Moored said during the meeting.
The administration is already working on a plan to make sure it doesn’t happen again and to require the sheriff’s office to make up for the lost revenue in the next budget.
Commissioners will see that plan by early June.
