Top Democrats in the Massachusetts Senate have firmly rejected claims from county sheriffs regarding advance notifications about significant budget overruns. This response comes as the Legislature moves forward with a comprehensive spending bill that mandates an investigation by the Inspector General’s Office into the financial practices of sheriff’s departments.
Senate President Karen Spilka stated that sheriff’s departments “suddenly notified” the House, Senate, and Governor Maura Healey‘s office about exceeding their fiscal year 2025 budget appropriations. Data from the Healey administration indicates that the sheriffs have exceeded their budgets by $121 million. Spilka emphasized the potential financial ramifications, saying, “Just think, if all other agencies did the same, the state would be bankrupt. So that’s why, in working with the House, we decided to try to get a better handle on how the money was spent because we had no idea.”
In a related development, House lawmakers recently approved a $2.2 billion spending bill aimed at resolving budget issues for fiscal year 2025. However, they chose to withhold the funds that sheriffs requested to offset their deficits. The Senate was in the process of passing a similar bill that includes an oversight panel to monitor sheriff departments’ finances, marking one of the first statewide checks on their spending practices.
Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux countered the Senate’s stance, asserting that he had kept lawmakers informed about the department’s expected budget needs. He cited an initial request for a budget of approximately $72 million, but the Legislature ultimately approved only $61 million. As a result, his department exceeded the budget by $11 million. Heroux remarked, “For anybody to suggest that the supplemental budget request is out of the blue is just very disingenuous.”
The reasons behind the budget overruns include pay increases for union employees, state-mandated medical treatments for inmates, no-cost phone calls for prisoners, and necessary repairs to aging facilities at correctional institutions.
Senator Michael Rodrigues, who chairs the budget-writing committee in the Senate, expressed concerns about the communication regarding budgetary issues. He stated, “There is a lot of spinning going on right around what the facts are and how notifications or communications happen.” He noted that while some agencies respond to budget inquiries, others do not, suggesting a breakdown in communication. Rodrigues reiterated, “I’m saying that we were not aware until the governor filed her supplemental budget… the amount of deficit the sheriffs overspent in fiscal year 2025.”
This ongoing conflict highlights the challenges faced by the Massachusetts government in managing its budget and ensuring accountability among various departments. As the spending bill progresses, the focus will remain on establishing better oversight mechanisms to prevent future budget discrepancies.
