The goings-on in Franklin County never fail to entertain, and often recollect the opportunistic politics of much earlier times.  A weekend Messenger profile of the county Sheriff’s race reveals some interesting facts concerning the incumbent, Democrat Bob Norris.   Apparently referred to in some law-enforcement circles as “Benefits Bob,”  Sheriff Norris’ administrative approach has raised a few eyebrows.   Complaints of inter-departmental friction with local and state enforcement are coupled with questions regarding liberties Norris’ department may have taken in billing the state for certain contract-related expenditures.  In Franklin County, what expenses the county may be billed for is left entirely to the discretion of the side judges who appear to have allowed the Sheriff wide-latitude to use public funding sources to cover costs that might more appropriately have been included in contractual expenses.

In a July 7 Messenger feature, Michelle Monroe gave a detailed account of what is known of the financial management of the department, but the picture was still somewhat hazy:  

On March 22, the Messenger requested from the Franklin County Sheriff in writing “a detailed accounting of what expenses were billed to Franklin County during FY 2009 and the current fiscal year. If a formula was used to determine what share of various costs was to be billed to the county, please include a copy of that formula.” Norris said no formula was used to determine what was billed to the county. He pointed to statutory requirements and the county budget to show what expenses were paid by the county.



Asked about the training paid for by the county, Norris said how much training the county pays for is at the discretion of the assistant judges.

Two Republicans are vying for the privilege of challenging Norris in the November election.  One of them, Paul Morits currently serves as a detective on the St. Albans City Police force, but worked in the Sheriff’s office before that.  He characterizes the relationship between the Sheriff and other law enforcement bodies as poor owing to the Sheriff’s inclination to be”territorial.”

This might just be dismissed as the rumblings of a rival candidate but, according to the Messenger:

In December, when Morits resigned from the Sheriff’s office, he said that Norris e-mailed a single word to him in reply, “Accepted.”  Then it gets interesting:

On Dec. 23, Morits’ last day with the Sheriff’s office, Det. Sgt. Michael Sisino, with approval from Norris, and via a Sheriff’s dispatcher, sent e-mail to everyone on staff -forgetting that Morits was still on the active recipients’ list.  “From this point forward,’ the note states, ‘Paul Morits is not allowed inside this building for any reason.  He (Sisino) advised that this is to include while he is in uniform with the St. Albans Police Department.”

According to Morits, Norris’ anger with him was due to the fact that he went to work for the City Police.  

Regardless of whether or not this squabble is fairly represented by the Republican candidate, questions regarding the finances of the Sheriff’s Department under Norris have apparently been a topic of curiosity for a while now.  According to state law, a 5% “administrative fee” may be collected by the Sheriff on all contracts carried out by the Department.  Norris has apparently taken this as a windfall to elevate his own annual salary of $65,000. from the state to a handsome $112,000.  Some, like Morits, argue that that “administrative fee” should go back into the Department:

“Forty-thousand dollars in fees means a lot when you’re talking manpower, especially in an office that claims it doesn’t have the resources to do what it needs to do.”

I haven’t followed the Sheriff’s career, but I don’t like where this seems to be going.   I can only await further developments in the news with that peculiarly Franklin County kind of dread that yet another public figure who styles himself a “Democrat” will force me to support his opposition.