Time to get a handle on spending by state’s sheriffs (The Republican Editorials)

The following editorial is from the opinion page of The Republican newspaper in Springfield. It reflects views of the newspaper’s leadership and not necessarily those of MassLive. Readers are invited to share their opinions by emailing to letters@repub.com .

For years, lawmakers in Massachusetts found it convenient to keep state sheriffs on a relatively short financial leash, then cough up millions to cover expenses beyond what had been allocated.

Not this year, as a story on our front page today explains. Last month, the Legislature recoiled at the $121 million the 14 sheriffs’ departments requested to backfill money spent in the fiscal year that ended last June. Instead of going along with their own flawed process, lawmakers commissioned an investigation by the inspector general.