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County, sheriff reach seized assets agreement
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By Emily Goodson
A new agreement between Camden County and its sheriff's office is the first step toward returning the department to the federal seized funds program.
County commissioners approved the agreement 4-1 at their regular meeting Tuesday. Commissioner Steve Berry was the only board member to vote against Sheriff Tommy Gregory's proposal, which turns over all checkbooks for the federal account to the county and allows the county attorney and U.S. Department of Justice to resolve disputes between the two parties.
The federal seized assets program allows law enforcement departments to keep a portion of money seized by deputies as evidence during arrests. The money is kept separate from the departments' regular budgets and can only be used to pay for law enforcement-related items like vehicles, equipment and training.
Since the mid-1990s, the sheriff's office has collected more than $20 million in seized money.
The Camden County Sheriff's Office has been excluded from the federal program since 2007, when former commission Chairman Preston Rhodes refused to sign the annual audit of the federal accounts, which is sent to the Justice Department each year.
Federal auditors have been investigating the use of the accounts by former Sheriff Bill Smith and are now seeing documentation and other records from Gregory's administration, which took office Jan. 1.
The documents provided by Gregory will be forwarded, along with the auditors' comments, to Washington, D.C. for review. Justice Department officials will then issue their final report.
Under the new agreement, the sheriff's office will contract with the county for all accounting work associated with the federal funds. In addition, Gregory must request all expenditures in writing. If a request meets federal guidelines, the county manager or his designee will issue a check within two business days.
If the request does not appear to meet federal guidelines, the document will be then be forwarded to county attorney Brent Green for review. A check would then be issued should Green approve. If he does not, the parties would look to the Justice Department for guidance.
The sheriff's office will also be required to submit a monthly expenditure report to the board of commissioners. Either side can opt out of the agreement within 10 business days.
Berry quickly voiced his objection Tuesday to the agreement, saying he wanted to reinstate the 1994 policy that required two signatures on every expenditure of seized funds -- one from the board of commissioners and one from the sheriff's office.
Berry said that Gregory's proposal keeps seized asset spending "behind closed doors" and does not allow for as much public involvement as possible.
"We're not in the loop," Berry said. "The public's not in the loop at all."
Other board members disagreed.
Commissioner Willis "Chip" Keene Jr. said Gregory's requests would be public documents, accessible under the federal Freedom of Information Act. Keene also said that he did not want commissioners to be viewed as approving only the expenditures that they wanted for the sheriff's office.
"I don't think we should be able to say, 'You should buy cars instead of guns,'" Keene said.
County commissioners approved the agreement 4-1 at their regular meeting Tuesday. Commissioner Steve Berry was the only board member to vote against Sheriff Tommy Gregory's proposal, which turns over all checkbooks for the federal account to the county and allows the county attorney and U.S. Department of Justice to resolve disputes between the two parties.
The federal seized assets program allows law enforcement departments to keep a portion of money seized by deputies as evidence during arrests. The money is kept separate from the departments' regular budgets and can only be used to pay for law enforcement-related items like vehicles, equipment and training.
Since the mid-1990s, the sheriff's office has collected more than $20 million in seized money.
The Camden County Sheriff's Office has been excluded from the federal program since 2007, when former commission Chairman Preston Rhodes refused to sign the annual audit of the federal accounts, which is sent to the Justice Department each year.
Federal auditors have been investigating the use of the accounts by former Sheriff Bill Smith and are now seeing documentation and other records from Gregory's administration, which took office Jan. 1.
The documents provided by Gregory will be forwarded, along with the auditors' comments, to Washington, D.C. for review. Justice Department officials will then issue their final report.
Under the new agreement, the sheriff's office will contract with the county for all accounting work associated with the federal funds. In addition, Gregory must request all expenditures in writing. If a request meets federal guidelines, the county manager or his designee will issue a check within two business days.
If the request does not appear to meet federal guidelines, the document will be then be forwarded to county attorney Brent Green for review. A check would then be issued should Green approve. If he does not, the parties would look to the Justice Department for guidance.
The sheriff's office will also be required to submit a monthly expenditure report to the board of commissioners. Either side can opt out of the agreement within 10 business days.
Berry quickly voiced his objection Tuesday to the agreement, saying he wanted to reinstate the 1994 policy that required two signatures on every expenditure of seized funds -- one from the board of commissioners and one from the sheriff's office.
Berry said that Gregory's proposal keeps seized asset spending "behind closed doors" and does not allow for as much public involvement as possible.
"We're not in the loop," Berry said. "The public's not in the loop at all."
Other board members disagreed.
Commissioner Willis "Chip" Keene Jr. said Gregory's requests would be public documents, accessible under the federal Freedom of Information Act. Keene also said that he did not want commissioners to be viewed as approving only the expenditures that they wanted for the sheriff's office.
"I don't think we should be able to say, 'You should buy cars instead of guns,'" Keene said.
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