Did the Sheriff Get Shortchanged?
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard’s office says they did not make an error when they say they more than funded Marion County Sheriff John Layton’s budget request, despite allegations by Council Democrats to the contrary.
In their news conference responding to Mayor’s budget Democrats say the Mayor erred when he said the said the Sheriff’s budget was fully funded. The Mayor said the Sheriff requested $108 million and actually received more than $109 million.
However Democrats say the Sheriff needed $120 million and that the Mayor’s office got the figure incorrect. In a letter to the Mayor, Layton said that two versions of his budget were submitted. One version was for $101 million. He says that was submitted by the Office of Financial Management and was not correct.
However, the second version of his budget was for $108 million, which is what was in the Mayor’s budget. Layton’s says that amount was properly funded and put together under his direction. He also noted his 2013 budget is several million less than 2012 which he attributes to a hiring freeze, redeployment of deputies and reduction of staff.
I’ve embedded a copy of Layton’s letter below. You can read it for yourself.
