BURGAW — On Monday the Pender County Sheriff’s Office will ask the Board of County Commissioners for $300,000 to replenish funds that were used to help the county cover expenses related to Hurricane Florence. More than half of the requested amount would come from the county’s general fund.
According to a request from recently elected sheriff Alan Cutler, in November 2018 each county department was asked to appropriate funds to cover expenses incurred from Florence.
The sheriff’s office moved $271,184 out of its Contract Detention fund – which cover the costs of housing inmates outside of Pender County — to help the county cover these expenses, according to Cutler’s request.
“As of January 2019, the Contract Detention fund has been depleted and is in the negative,” the agenda item states.
The sheriff’s office is estimating that $300,000 will be required to bring the fund out of the negative and cover costs for the remainder of the 2018-2019 fiscal year, according to the agenda item. Staff identified $143,369 in various funds, but request the remaining balance of $156,631 to be appropriated from the county’s General Fund.
In November Cutler was elected to replace Carson Smith, who won a seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives representing District 16 covering Pender County and eastern Columbus County.
