(AJC) — The sign in Forsyth County Sheriff Ted Paxton’s office reads “Spare Me the Drama.” But it’s a hot August afternoon, the subject is the budget and, what the heck, the sheriff is on a roll.
“With the budget they gave me, as far as I was concerned we were bankrupt on Jan. 1st,” Paxton said. “We were bankrupt before we answered our first call. We were bankrupt before we bought our first gallon of gas.”
In 159 counties across Georgia, every year county commissions and sheriff’s offices wrangle over the sheriff’s budget. In good economic times, the negotiations often take place, without public interest, behind the scenes, or, if they’re in public, in peaceful accord.
