Jul 23, 5:59 PM EDT


Sheriff's office finishes fiscal year in black




PHOENIX (AP) -- The Maricopa County Sheriff's office says it finished the fiscal year in the black despite having had a $3 million deficit earlier in the year.

A few months after the fiscal year began, the sheriff's office was criticized for exceeding its overtime budget by more than $1 million. The deficit grew to $3 million before spending was reined in.

Officials had quit transporting prisoners from satellite facilities and continued with a hiring freeze for deputies and detention officers along with a constant quest for alternative funding sources. The hiring freeze kept open the positions of about 190 detention officers and about 20 deputies.

The office has resumed hiring in recent months, but positions for about 140 detention positions and eight deputies remain open, said Loretta Barkell, the sheriff's chief of business operations.

The cost cutting allowed the office to return about $5 million to the county.

Faced with a grim economic outlook, county administrators reduced the Sheriff's Office budget from about $295 million to $288 million in the coming fiscal year.

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