CLEVELAND, Ohio — The sudden transfer of two Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department fiscal officers has raised questions about whether the move was retaliation for publicly challenging the county’s budget numbers — an allegation county officials firmly deny.

Just one day after Donna Kaleal and Chris Costin appeared before County Council and publicly questioned the county’s numbers for the sheriff’s budget, they were ordered to move out of the sheriff’s office and report instead to the county’s central fiscal department in the administration building.

The directive came from Executive Chris Ronayne’s Chief of Staff Erik Janas, though records show the idea and a draft version of the order originated from Chief of Innovation and Operations Katie Gallagher. Gallagher’s office has been tasked w

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