Baxter, 010821 OHAGO, AGO 2021-001
Case Date | January 08, 2021 |
Court | Ohio |
1. May an expenditure for county employee salaries exceed the appropriation amount set by a county board of commissioners (“Commissioners”)?
2. What is the Auditor’s role in determining whether a county appointing authority has exceeded its salaries appropriation amount?
3. What is the Auditor’s responsibility and potential liability under R.C. 5705.45 or other provisions if processing a payroll transmittal would result in an exceeded appropriation amount?
4. Does the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) require timely “prompt payment” of an employee who worked hours when the elected county official has overspent the appropriation amount?I You first ask if an elected county official may make an expenditure for employee salaries that exceeds the appropriation amount set by the Commissioners. The term “elected county officials” commonly includes the following officers: county commissioners, county prosecuting attorneys, county sheriffs, county coroners, county engineers, county recorders, county auditors, county treasurers, and common pleas court judges. R.C. 305.01; R.C. 309.01; R.C. 311.01; R.C. 313.01; R.C. 315.01; R.C. 317.01; R.C. 319.01; R.C. 321.01; R.C. 2301.01; R.C. 2303.01; 2003 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 2003-027, at 2-222, fn. 1. The answer, at least as a general matter, is “no.” I begin with a caveat. Various statutory provisions govern the budgeting and expenditures of particular elected county officials. In order to accurately address the appropriation for a particular elected county official, it would be necessary to thoroughly examine all statutes relevant to that official. That task requires a detailed analysis that exceeds the scope of this opinion. See, e.g., R.C. 309.06 (the compensation of certain employees of the county prosecutor is fixed in the aggregate by the judges of the court of common pleas); R.C. 325.071 (furtherance of justice funds); R.C. 5577.13 (duty of boards of county commissioners to appropriate from county road fund money to equip and compensate deputy sheriffs for enforcement of motor vehicle weight and size limits). See generally 2006 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 2006-013, at 2-109 to 2-110 (citing numerous statutes that affect particular appropriations). Thus, this opinion addresses principles applicable to elected county officials generally. It considers only the operations of counties that, like Erie County, have not adopted a charter. Elected county officials lack authority to pay employee salaries in excess of the amount set by the Commissioners. Every year, the Commissioners must adopt budgets and appropriate funds for various county bodies and officials. 2009 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 2009-044, at 2-315. Elected county officials are required to request funding from the Commissioners. Id. Once requested, the Commissioners determine when to appropriate amounts to the elected county officials for various uses. Id. Commissioners must provide each elected county official their own appropriation, and, within that appropriation, a specific...
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