Tuesday, April 16, 2002

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office has slammed the door on overspending, according to a report just released.

The report, from the Forsyth County Finance Department, shows that in 2001, the Sheriff’s Office exceeded its budget by only .32% or $50,008. This compares with an 18% budget overrun in 2000 totaling $1,822,071. In 1999, the Sheriff’s Office exceeded its budget by $475,719.

"We were able to bring our budget expenditures into line by implementing a number of controls," said Sheriff Ted Paxton, who recently marked his first anniversary as Forsyth County’s Sheriff. "For example," he added, "we moved vehicle maintenance to our county’s Fleet Department, and added spending controls in almost every other area. For the first time in the history of the Sheriff’s Office we created the position of Controller and hired a professional, Bob Shaw, to fill that job. This move has had a tremendous impact on our ability to control costs."