Sheriff's Office - Overtime Audit

The Department of Internal Auditing (DIA) has conducted an audit of Sheriff's Office for the period January 1, 2024 - March 30, 2025, to assess the effectiveness and adequacy of procedures, controls, and compliance requirements for overtime worked.   The Sheriff’s Office was identified as an area to audit due to the risk assigned during our annual Risk Assessment. We conducted our review through inquiry, reviews of Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), and testing overtime transactions. The audit included review and evaluation of procedures, practices, and controls as deemed necessary. 

Sheriff’s Office faces an ongoing challenge in balancing its public safety responsibilities with the need to manage overtime costs. In recognizing the importance of maintaining adequate staffing to ensure safety and operational continuity, DIA identified internal control weaknesses and opportunities for process improvement that may be contributing to increased overtime spending:
Pay rate increases alone accounted for over 60% of annual overtime cost growth.

• The following contributed to frequent staffing shortages and reliance on overtime: 
  • Corrections experienced a 16% average annual turnover rate, much higher than other divisions.
  • Increase use of leave time, with reduced vacation usage.
• Control weaknesses in overtime approval and documentation:
  • Overtime was mostly approved retroactively. 
  • DIA estimates up to $3.8 million in overtime may not have been properly supported during the audit period. 
• The Sheriff’s Office lacks consistent, department-wide policies for overtime assignment, approval, and documentation.
• Limited budget monitoring and reporting capabilities.
   

DIA provided the Sheriff’s Office with recommendations for improving management of overtime in the Sheriff’s Office.  The Sheriff’s Office was working to address the issues noted in this report during the audit.  Recommendations DIA made for the Sheriff’s Office included, but were not limited to: 

• Create formal, consistent policies and procedures for scheduling, timekeeping, and overtime management. 
• Establish formal procedures for pre-approving and documenting overtime across all divisions. 
• Train supervisors and staff on new procedures and expectations related to overtime approval, documentation, and monitoring. 
• Adopt a department-wide scheduling management system that integrates with the County’s timekeeping platform to improve
  oversight, reduce manual errors, and enhance transparency. 
• Incorporate financial analysis into overtime monitoring to identify inefficiencies and unusual trends, including monitoring of leave
  trends and overtime per position and unit.