After weeks of hearings at Cuyahoga County Council, the county’s budget for 2026 and 2027 is nearing final passage, but doubts remain about whether the sheriff’s budget is accurate.
The sheriff’s department told council it needs at least $213 million for 2026. County Executive Chris Ronayne originally offered about $200 million.
The issue, as it’s been the last few years, is overtime for corrections officers and deputies.
“Our original ask was $217 million,” said Chris Costin from the sheriff’s department’s fiscal office. “On the law enforcement side and on the jail side, they are working to get these overtime costs down.”
After meeting with the county executive’s Office of Budget and Management, $4.6 million was added in each year of the biennial budget, bringing the final number headed for council approval to about $205 million in 2026 and about $208 million in 2027.
Councilmember Michael Gallagher, who chairs council’s Public Safety Committee and oversees the sheriff’s budget, said the department has gone over budget and come back to council for millions of dollars each year since 2022.
“This year, we just put 11 million in, last Tuesday, to help you balance things out,” said Gallagher. “So, in 2022, we added 16, 2023 - 19, 2024 - 16. 2025 we’re on board to add 15. So, this is nothing new. But we always do it. And it’s got to stop. We’ve got to get to a number.”
Steps are being taken inside the jail to bring down costs, said officials from the sheriff’s department and administration.
Corrections officers will no longer assist with delivering food and other “escort services” in the jail. Deputies in law enforcement will go from 10-hour to 12-hour shifts to reduce overtime.
And there is going to be more oversight of overtime, starting within the sheriff’s department, said Nestor Rivera, chief of corrections.
“We have identified areas that I feel have been abused, heavily, in the past,” said Rivera, describing a lack of oversight of overtime within the department. “It’s coming in Sunday night at 2:00 in the morning and asking: ‘Why are you here?’ It’s having that rough conversation with the union: ‘What do you mean you’re sending them home?’ ‘I’m sending them home. There’s no need for…I can’t even find out who approved for them to be here.’”
Council also added oversight measures as part of the budget: a monthly, written financial report submitted to council summarizing overtime expenses, staffing updates and expenses incurred by the former Downtown Safety Patrol, now known as the Community Support Unit.
The budget also includes a separate line for the unit with $1.4 million per year that can be reduced or removed by council.
But with final passage scheduled for Dec. 9, there’s still at least an $8 million gap between the budget and the amount the sheriff expects to spend in 2026.
