BENTON COUNTY -- The Benton County Quorum Court had to more than double the Sheriff's Office overtime budget on short notice, adding $300,000 last month to a budget line with an original appropriation of $206,703 for 2013.

A review of the office's overtime records shows at least $245,664 of that pay went to jail personnel. The jail is contending with constant near-capacity operation, Sheriff Kelley Cradduck said in a Dec. 13 interview.

"It's dangerous to have 50 prisoners to one jailer, so if we don't have enough jailers, somebody has to come in and work at the jail," Cradduck said. "If we have to pay them overtime, we do."

Cradduck cited an 86 percent increase in arrests compared to 2012 as a major factor in the larger jail population. At the same time, the jail is coping with a backlog of state prisoners, he said.

The number of state prisoners in county jails has been a chronic problem, but this year the backlog set a state record. The state's Legislative Council was told in October that 2,144 state prisoners were in county jails throughout the state awaiting transfer.

The record was set after Darrell Dennis, a parolee released from prison in 2008, was charged in connection with the murder of a Fayetteville teenager in May. The murder happened less than 48 hours after Dennis was released from the Pulaski County Jail. Parole procedures were immediately tightened.

State reimbursement for housing those prisoners does not cover the costs involved, especially when overtime pay is required, Cradduck said. Ten jailers, including jail sergeants and a jail transport officer, earned more than $3,000 each in overtime pay, according to county records.

Locally, the effect is that the jail is at full occupancy and requires full staffing at all times, Cradduck said.

"We have triple bunks in the women's unit -- the first time that's happened," he said.

Outside Programs

Much of the rest of the overtime pay came from federal and state programs above and beyond the office's regular duties, Cradduck said. Money for that pay comes from grants and other payments by those agencies, not the county, he said.

County records confirm that at least $140,475 in federal grants and other payments for such work went to the county by Dec. 16. Another $95,927, some of it overtime, was paid by other county offices for deputies guarding the county courthouse.

Cradduck told the county Quorum Court in the Nov. 12 meeting he would provide a more detailed accounting of the state and federal reimbursement programs.

"What I found was that the money was already going into the county general fund," Cradduck said. So when the county appropriated an additional $300,000, it was largely appropriating money it had already received from the grants, he said.

Even if that is so, "you don't spend it; then ask to get it approved," said County Judge Bob Clinard. "Three-hundred thousand dollars is enough for 1 percent of a county employee pay raise. Every 1 percent costs $280,000."

"We could all do a lot of good with more money, but we have to live within our budgets," Clinard said. "I understand he's chasing criminals, but sometimes I think some people would rather have their road paved than catch all of them."

Cradduck made a good-faith effort to keep the county informed, said Tom Allen, a county justice of the peace and chairman of the Quorum Court Finance Committee.

"It was the size of the adjustment that caught us off guard, but what happened was that we were keeping track of overall personnel costs," Allen said. "The increase was only a small percentage of those overall costs. That's what we asked for. It's only when we asked for details in a breakdown that we discovered the problem was coming from overtime pay.

"I'll take responsibility for that," Allen said. "We learned the hard way to track specific numbers, not percentages, and that's what we'll do.

"This is the sheriff's first year of his first term," Allen said. "There is a learning curve, and we know that. He is being more productive with more arrests and a more crowded jail."

The best solution to overtime costs is to hire enough people to do the work without having to pay overtime, Allen said.

"I'm just one of 15 on the Quorum Court," Allen said, but he said he would consider the sheriff's personnel needs in light of the results being achieved.

The county comptroller's office confirmed that grants and other payments from state and federal agencies to the sheriff 's office go directly to the county. The payments to the county involved, as of Dec. 16, included:

$10,024 from the High Intensity Drug Traffic Areas Program. This is a program administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which oversees and tries to coordinate national policy regarding illegal drugs. The program provides grants to regions identified as crossroads for transportation of illegal drugs.

$94,851 from the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program of the Arkansas State Police. These grants help pay for greater emphasis on enforcement of state laws that require wearing seat belts and forbid driving while intoxicated.

$16,762 from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration for work done on the federal agency's behalf.

$18,838 from the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program of the U.S. Department of Justice also went to the county, but not to the general fund. That grant went to "fund 930," a special account of the county's for money earmarked for jail transportation purposes. The alien assistance program reimburses state and local governments for the costs of incarcerating unauthorized immigrants. The other payments listed went to the county's general fund.

The reimbursement for guarding the county courthouse also went to the county general fund. It amounted to $95,927 as of Dec. 16, according to county figures.

Work done on these federal and state programs is eligible for overtime pay because his personnel's regular duties take up the 40 hours of a work week, Cradduck said.

Other law enforcement agencies use accounting methods that make distinctions between work for them and work for other agencies. Bill Sadler, spokesman for the Arkansas State Police, said his agency adopted an accounting and budget system that splits different types of work.

"When we work on a federal matter, we clock out," Sadler said. Troopers then "clock in" to a particular program, and are paid from a separate account using that program's grant. In addition, the total number of hours worked is tracked to ensure no one has to work longer than normal without receiving overtime pay.

Medical Care Options

Another serious need in Benton County is for medical staff for the jail. One jail nurse earned $8,087.57 in overtime pay. Two others earned more than $4,900 each. They earned every penny of it, Cradduck said.

"Thank God for the ones we do have, because we've tried to hire more and simply can't find anybody," Cradduck said. "We've hired some who worked one day and then said, 'That's it. I'm not coming back.' The ones we have never get any time off. We've had two empty slots for nurses since I got here and simply cannot fill them."

Cradduck is in talks with three private health services contractors who specialize in jail services, and is considering privatizing the service, he said. Besides the staffing and overtime factors, there are liability risks and other factors to consider, he said.

"I can't hire a psychiatrist, so what happens when I have a patient who might need that type of treatment?"

Asked why a sheriff's office major in a salaried administration position received overtime pay, Cradduck said the officer involved earned the overtime pay before his position as major was approved.

The largest amount of overtime pay -- $18,929 -- went to one deputy, Andrew Lee IV. Lee earned it volunteering to work whenever there was a need, Cradduck said. Lee has since accepted a promotion to lieutenant, the sheriff said.

"That's a salaried position, which means he won't be eligible for overtime -- which really means about a cut in pay for him," Cradduck said. "He's the hardest-working deputy I've got."