Sheriff presents commissary report; commissioners agree to enter it into record and move to quarterly reporting
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Summary
The Adams County sheriff presented a commissary account report; commissioners accepted the report into the record and discussed shifting commissary reporting to quarterly following state Board of Accounts scrutiny. Sheriff emphasized commissary funds come from inmates, not tax dollars.
The Adams County sheriff presented the commissary account report and commissioners voted to enter it into the public record; the sheriff and commissioners discussed changing the report frequency from semiannual to quarterly in response to concerns about transparency.
At the meeting the sheriff said state audits and high-profile misuse cases in other counties prompted the change: "they just wanted more transparency... we're now gonna get training by state board of council twice a year," he said. The sheriff also told commissioners that commissary revenues are generated by inmates and that "there is 0 tax dollars." Commissioners discussed their oversight role and agreed that entering the report into the record met the statutory requirement.
Why it matters: Commissary accounts can hold substantial discretionary funds in some counties. County leaders said more frequent reporting (quarterly) could help oversight and reduce the risk of misuse.
Action: Commissioners instructed that the commissary report be entered in the record; they discussed that in future the reports will be quarterly rather than every six months.
Next steps: County will implement quarterly submissions and participate in State Board of Accounts training for sheriff/bookkeeping staff as described by the sheriff.