County manager expresses frustration over Wake sheriff's spending

Documents obtained by WRAL Investigates show growing frustration with the Wake County Sheriff's Office when it comes to budgeting decisions, including hiring, promotions, raises and vendor contracts.

Posted 7:27 p.m. Oct 10, 2019 — Updated 10:34 p.m. Oct 10, 2019

Randall Kerr

, WRAL Investigates producer

RALEIGH, N.C. — Documents obtained by WRAL Investigates show growing frustration with the Wake County Sheriff’s Office when it comes to budgeting decisions, including hiring, promotions, raises and vendor contracts.

Following a tip, WRAL Investigates received public records from the county manager’s office detailing budget concerns.

The first memorandum came from Wake County Chief Financial Officer Emily Lucas on July 26. The email outlined several issues that needed correction, including how Sheriff Gerald Baker was offering vendor contracts, sometimes without going through the proper bidding process and without receiving permission to offer a no-bid contract. Supporting documents also raised questions about the sheriff’s office terminating existing contracts without even telling the vendor.

Sheriff’s office personnel met with county budget staff on Sept. 5 to talk about the concerns and figure out a corrective plan of action. Thirteen days later, County Manager David Ellis sent another memo to the sheriff, which focused on personnel changes.

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Among the issues: hiring or placing employees in positions prior to approval, placing employees in new positions they were not qualified to perform and converting detention officers to higher-paying senior positions despite a detention officer shortage. Ellis also touched on the contract issues, including the fact that the sheriff’s office waited too long to submit some new contracts, which delayed their approval.

On Sept. 26, Ellis sent another memo to Baker to reiterate the point that county officials and the sheriff’s office had discussed hiring policies in-depth on Sept. 5. Despite those discussions, Ellis pointed out three new personnel issues.

The first involved rehiring a woman who applied for a medical record administrative assistant position. Her job was submitted to the county as a detention officer, and the sheriff’s office asked for nearly a month in back pay. The county also received a request to give an employee a 10 percent pay raise, retroactive more than two months.

When county officials said back pay is normally given only for the current pay period, the sheriff’s office submitted paperwork to promote that employee to a sergeant, even though there were no openings for that higher-paying position.

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The sheriff's office has a budget of $108 million and employs more than 1,000 people.

Jessica Holmes, chairwoman of the county Board of Commissioners, declined to answer specific questions about the sheriff’s office.

“The Wake County Board of Commissioners is responsible for ensuring our business practices and policies are in line with the public trust. We have and will continue to do our due diligence across ALL departments for which we are fiscally responsible," Holmes said in a statement.

The sheriff's office released a statement to WRAL, saying Baker is working with county officials "to examine policies and procedures that improve the business practices of the Sheriff’s Office."

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"Through our discussions with county staff, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office has only one goal in mind – to save the taxpayers money, through the implementation of practices that improve processes, while negotiating contracts that have been identified as unfavorable to the county," the statement said. "The Sheriff’s Office has renegotiated purchasing contracts through updated policies that have saved taxpayers thousands of dollars.

"Changes in personnel matters have been implemented for the purposes of efficiency and accountability and providing services while protecting the citizens of Wake County," the statement adds. "The Wake County Sheriff’s Office is committed in providing solutions and will avoid finger-pointing, as we continue to work in a collaborative effort to move this office forward."

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