Kentucky sheriff’s office ordered to pay thousands of dollars over obscure rule

PULASKI COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - A southern Kentucky sheriff is being ordered to pay more than $60,000 because of a requirement he says he was not aware of.

The money will be going to K-9 handlers who have worked for the office over the past four years. Sheriff Bobby Jones, who took office in January, says it was discovered they were not in compliance with how the deputies were compensated.

“The Labor Cabinet said someone filed a complaint,” Jones said.

Jones says state labor officials said they were not properly paying K-9 handlers. The issue wasn’t their regular salaries but rather what they are paid for taking the dogs home. Jones says handlers don’t have to pay for vet bills, dog food, or any other expenses and are even given an extra $1,000 a year.

Jones says the Kentucky Labor Cabinet wants all of that listed as a specific line item in their budget. He says the bizarre thing about the situation is the Kentucky Sheriff’s Association, the Kentucky Auditor, and numerous other people were not aware of this “so-called” rule.

“To my knowledge, we are the first ones to be hit with this,” Jones said. “What they decided to do, we had to go back four years for the seven handlers we had. We had to compensate them for the time they had the dog at home.”

Jones says the money is being paid in two installments. He says $61,000 is a major amount and says if a smaller sheriff’s or police department had to do this, it might force them to close down.

Sheriff Jones says the Kentucky Labor Cabinet did not divulge who filed the complaint on them. We have a call into the Labor Cabinet that has not been returned yet.