Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office Cuts 24 Jobs Amid Budget Controversy

Layoffs are underway at the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff blames budget constraints, but other county officers say it's because of mismanagement.

The county says that 24 positions have been terminated as of Monday, and six positions were moved to other jobs within the sheriff’s office.

Sheriff Chris Amason announced the cuts in a post on the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. It’s still unclear just how many people were let go in that post, Amason says the layoffs primarily affect administrative staff with “some” impact on deputies.

Cleveland County District 1 Commissioner Rod Cleveland, like many others, saw the unexpected news on Facebook.

“I was surprised,” Cleveland said. “I met with Chris Amason in the last two weeks talking about his staffing and he never mentioned anything like this.”

In the post, Sheriff Amason says the changes are “necessary” to prioritize staffing in patrol and detention. He said that patrols will focus primarily on unincorporated areas.

“I have not seen the positions that have been cut or let go and I just hope that it was positions that will not deter public safety,” Cleveland said.

Sheriff Amason defended the cuts saying in a statement:

“These decisions were not made lightly, but we remain committed to delivering the best possible law enforcement services.” 

However, the layoffs raise questions about why the office is facing financial problems so early in the fiscal year.

“He has revenue of almost $20 million and that's what he has to work with,” Cleveland said.

The $19.75 million budget in FY 2025 is an 8.1% increase from last year, and according to Cleveland already showing signs of overspending.

“The current rate of spending is greater than what he would have to finish out the year,” he said.

The Board of County Commissioners says the sheriff “overspent” his 2024 budget forcing them to find emergency funding.

“The county officers all had to come together and be able to look at our budget to be able to find $4.5 million to pay the bills that he had incurred.”

Sheriff Amason has said in the past he did not receive the funding his office was due and requested a state audit of the county budget board. He defends the layoffs now saying his office will “remain committed to delivering the best possible law enforcement services.” To reduce costs further, the sheriff said his office is selling surplus assets and utilizing countywide services like IT and HR.

However, Cleveland says if they knew this was coming, some jobs may have been saved.

“Could there have been a position that could have been absorbed someplace else in the county and then that way that person would have had a job and still worked for the county,” he said.

Our calls to the sheriff's office on Friday were not returned. The sheriff's office is currently at the center of a state audit.

Cleveland County Treasurer Jim Reynolds released this statement to News 9 on Friday in response to the layoff announcement:

“Budgets are a way of life with all government agencies. The layoffs announced today are solely the decision of Sheriff Chris Amason. I will reserve comment on the CCSO's actions until I can fully study the specific details of today's announcement,” Jim Reynolds Cleveland County Treasurer.