For the second time in as many attempts, Shelby County Commissioners failed to render a verdict on an $18 million settlement between the Mayor Lee Harris and the Shelby County Sheriff’s department during their Monday, June 1 meeting.
On May 18, the mayor’s financial team presented the settlement to commissioners, after Bonner successfully sued the mayor in circuit court. Commissioners have initially balked at the funding request.
The item was sent back to committee without recommendation. It will be taken up on Wednesday, June 10.
The bulk of the cash — $16 million — will square unpaid overtime costs through February. However, the meter is still running. Moreover, the bill continues to accrue as many of the problems go unresolved. The total overtime costs for the year are expected to climb to $120 million.
“We are currently at about $20 million to $21 million here to date. We had budgeted for I think it was $11 million, so about $10 million over what we budgeted for. So the next couple of months, depending on what they spend on overtime, that will be the rest of the $16 million,” said Audrey Tipton.
However, the county may not be on the hook for the entire sum. Around $7 million of the money may have already been offset.
Part of the problem is the SCSO’s new budgeting tool. The transition to Oracle software has bedeviled finance teams from the county and the sheriff’s department. The SCSO uses the software to manage its payroll and overtime costs.
According to the administration, the new system is more rigid. Cash for overtime costs must be budgeted ahead of time on a single line. The previous system allowed the department latitude to draw cash from a “pool” to cover unintended expenses — like the current overtime overrun.
Commissioners entered the discussion hopeful that at least one of two parties would have found an alternative to a funding resolution. Budget & Committee Chairman Michael Whaley got the ball rolling during the May 27 committee meeting. He floated the trial balloon of using the sheriff department’s vacancy savings.
The money is from unspent money budgeted for unfilled salaries and benefits. At the time, Tipton said the maneuver would allow the county to avoid the SCSO Maintenance of Effort, under which the state requires local agencies maintain a consistent level of their own funding for essential services.
Tipton reaffirmed as much on Monday.
“My understanding is, now that I’ve spoken to our attorney about this, if this is one time, if this is $16 million to increase over time from FY2026, it does not impact maintenance of effort, because it will not repeat in 2027.”
However, commissioners were left staring at the original resolution a few days later.
“This resolution looks overly simplified. It says let’s just take $18 million. You add up the $2 million and the $16 million and the $15,000 and just pull it out of unassigned fund balance, which is just not a good way to do it,” chided Whaley. “And we don’t have to do it that way. That’s what I’m struggling with. I thought we were getting somewhere and we’d have maybe a substitute or an amendment.”
Prior to the comment, county attorney Megan Smith informed commissioners they had “fulfilled” their end of the bargain with the inclusion of the resolution on an agenda. For its part, the SCSO is holding firm to the current resolution. Furthermore, if the matter isn’t resolved in the allotted 30 days, another lawsuit could be brought.
Still, the overtime bill isn’t going anywhere.
Although exact numbers weren’t available, much of the OT is being paid to the undermanned staff at the Shelby County Jail. A ballpark complement of around 520 SCSO employees are currently responsible for the safety of an average of 2,600 to 2,900 inmates.
The number has swelled recently, as the Memphis Safe Task Force runs its course. Since beginning in late September, the state-ordered federal, state and local law enforcement operation has arrested over 7,000 suspects. The majority have passed through, or are currently being held at 201 Poplar Ave.
Commissioners are also seeking a full accounting on the overall costs of the operation. The federal government is slated to refund $700,000 in costs. The actual figure is vastly higher.
Along with the long hours, jail staff also have to deal with a crumbling facility. Commissioners have sunk millions of dollars into repairs at the 45-year old facility in recent years. Eventually, some employees leave for better working conditions at another county run facility.
“We lose a lot of people, at times, to one of those organizations,” confirmed SCSO CAO Alicia Lindsey. “And I’m sure, yes, the condition of the facilities has a direct impact on whether or not someone wants to work at 201 Poplar.”
Lindsey also pointed to salary restrictions, which place a limit on compensation for a specific job, for the lack of new hires. For the SCSO, the overall figure has grown over recent years.
“As long as we have a $50.8 million salary restriction or more, we are going to have the issue of overtime because we have vacancies,” said Lindsey.
The excuse didn’t wash with Tipton.
“There has never been a problem with hiring, because the budget is there. To say that there is a problem with hiring because the vacancy savings is too high — it may be a little too high now, because of the overtime costs being so high — but we still have all these vacancies and there is still available budget to hire,” replied Tipton.
