Payroll numbers reveal spending for Cleveland Co. Sheriff's Office

NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) – Cleveland County released payroll information for the sheriff’s office Monday, showing where money has been spent after ongoing budget concerns.

The information comes less than a week after Sheriff Chris Amason laid off 24 employees. Amason said he let employees go to stay on budget.

"I don't want to do it, but I have to stay within the budget and that's what I'm doing," said Amason.

He surprised many in Cleveland County last week when he announced layoffs and budget cuts on Facebook.

"Ultimately it's reducing service to the public," said Amason.

County Commissioners questioned the timing and motive.

"This has nothing to do with jeopardizing public safety,” said Rod Cleveland, County Commissioner for District 1.  "They haven't followed purchasing laws and there's a lot to this than just saying 'public safety's at risk, I need money'. You have to follow the law. You have to stay within the constraints of it. You have to be sensitive to the taxpayer."

County Commissioners voted earlier this year to bailout the sheriff’s office by more than $3 million after they say Amason mismanaged his budget. The sheriff said he can only stretch dollars so far.

"Unless we have additional funding we have to reduce our staff," said Amason.

Cleveland County released payroll numbers from April 2020, under previous sheriff Todd Gibson, to 2024.

The numbers showed that in 2020, the office averaged 181 employees. The number jumped to 223 employees in four years.

The detention center has the highest number of staff in the sheriff’s office, but payroll numbers showed staff pay went down by nearly 50 percent from 2020 to 2024.

In March 2020, quarterly pay for the detention center was $784,145.79. In March 2024, it was $405,516.73. This was despite an increase in the starting pay for detention officers. Amason responded by telling News 4 that the decrease in numbers was partly due to the number of staff. He said it has been hard to find people to staff the detention center in recent years.

The pay for deputies jumped by 170 percent, according to payroll numbers. However, Amason said the increase in that number was due to non-renewal of a contract with Norman Public Schools for 17 SRO positions.

“We had to absorb those numbers,” said Amason. “We had to move those deputies to open positions and several of those were in the detention center.”

Administrative roles also saw a pay increase of more than 23 percent. In 2020, pay was $51,128 and in 2024, the number improved to $62,945.

The numbers showed there was an overall pay increase in many departments.

County Commissioners issued this statement to KFOR:

“The substantial increase in total payroll costs for the Sheriff’s Office indicates rising operational costs that outstrip overall inflation and are not sustainable long-term. This also raises questions about effective resource allocation given the decrease in payroll at the detention center where traditionally, the largest number of employees have been concentrated.

 In FY23, FY24, and now in FY25 Sheriff Chris Amason overspent his available revenue funding and now he is on track to do the same. This is a violation of the Budget Board Act.”

KFOR asked Amason to respond to accusations he violated the Budget Board Act.

“I’d be happy to sit down with commissioners and have conversations with them,” said Amason. “This is the first time I’m hearing of this and I don’t know what they’re talking about.”