LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A funding feud in Scott County, Indiana, that threatened jobs and public safety has been decided by a judge.
Scott County Sheriff Jerry Goodin filed a lawsuit last December after the Scott County Council slashed his 2025 budget from $4.4 million to just $1.7 million, claiming the sheriff overspent.
Goodin pushed back, saying there was an error in the auditor's office and warned that the drastic budget cuts would force him to lay off deputies and reduce essential services.
A judge ruled in favor of Goodin and the department last month, declaring the 2025 budget be restored to $4.4 million, with about $1.2 million already spent from Jan. 1 to April 2 of this year.
"It's over," Goodin said in a video posted on Facebook Monday. "We won. We knew we would. We were on the side of right. We were telling the truth. Everything we said could be proved, and still can be proved."
There has been a longstanding feud between Goodin, a Democrat, and the Republican majority council, which oversees spending. The Scott County Council claimed Goodin was overspending, while Goodin alleged the council wasn't paying department and jail bills due to a personal vendetta.
Scott County Council President JR Ward would not comment on the ruling, but said he will address the order and Goodin's remarks at a council meeting Tuesday evening.
The lawsuit ruling also calls for an increase in pay for jail staff to $21.16 an hour and an hourly increase for sheriff's deputies to $26.44, all effective June 1.
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