SCOTTSBURG, Ind. (WDRB) -- Sweeping budget cuts in Scott County are poised to drastically reshape the sheriff's office.

The Scott County Council's recent decision to slash $2 million from the sheriff's $3 million annual budget has drawn sharp reactions, particularly from Sheriff Jerry Goodin, who said the decision comes at a difficult time for the community.

"It's terrible to get fired from your job but it's terrible two weeks from Christmas," Goodin said, emphasizing the personal toll the Dec. 3 cuts may take.

Goodin, who now faces the task of determining how to protect Scott County with one-third of his typical funding, confirmed the decision will likely mean letting go of 20 deputies.

The budget reduction stems from concerns about alleged overspending within the sheriff's office. County Council President James Ward argued that the sheriff's office exceeded its budget by over $500,000 in 2024.

"To say it's a personal vendetta — I don't think that's fair or accurate," Ward said. "He's currently in excess of half a million dollars over budget."

The tension between Goodin, a Democrat, and the Republican-led council has escalated throughout the year.

"They don't know what they are talking about," Goodin told WDRB Monday evening. "I have actually gave back over a half a million dollars to the county in budgets since I have been sheriff."

The budget reduction stems from concerns about alleged overspending within the Sheriff’s Office.

Earlier this year, Goodin warned that new sheriff's department vehicles were at risk of repossession, citing defaults on county loan payments.

The sheriff said many of the department's cars are old and require several thousand dollars of work to keep them going. 

"There is no one, I can tell you right now, there is no one in Scott County right now that will tell you that this is not political," Goodin said Monday evening.

Ward, however, contended that Goodin had kept unbudgeted part-time deputies on payroll and used overtime excessively, despite multiple warnings about budget constraints.

"(Goodin) kept the part-time people employed and continued using overtime at exorbitant rates even after receiving letters saying our county can't afford it," Ward said.

But Goodin has a folder of unpaid bills that he said the council has refused to pay. According to Goodin's total, more than $75,000 of unpaid bills. He said the electric bill for the jail and the sheriff's department has not been paid in months, along with several health care bills for the jail.

"Look at this one here, this one is quite ironic, OK, if everyone knows the history, ya know the needle exchange, we owe $8,000 to Walgreens," he told WDRB.

The list goes on. Monday evening, three council members held a town hall meeting to discuss the sheriff's spending. 

"This current year, we are a little over $4 million dollars, and he has approximately $500,000 dollars of that is overspent," Ward said Monday evening. 

The sheriff is asking for $5 million each year to run the department, which is a quarter of the entire county budget. But Ward isn't going to budge on the money.

"Setting a quarterly budget would maybe be the best way to go, so we could open a line of communication with the sheriff and have him come in and go over the figures," he said.

As budgetary disputes unfold, Scott County residents express concern about the potential impact on community safety and local employment.

"People need jobs," said Stephanie Albertson, who lives in Scott County. "They should figure something else out other than letting them go."

The budget cuts will take effect in 2025, leaving the sheriff's office and the community to grapple with the challenges posed by limited resources and growing public safety needs.

A special meeting has been called for Wednesday to discuss the sheriff's unpaid bills.

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