Sheriff’s office: Big checks and a dwindling budget

Published 12:46 pm Monday, June 24, 2024

SOUTH BEND — Big paychecks for several Pacific County Sheriff’s Office deputies have caught the attention of budget watchers. Two deputies earned a combined $26,000 in May, and questions have arisen about how.

Through a multi-month investigation, including acquiring public records, some light has been shed on the situation. For the better part of 2024, some deputies have earned oversized paychecks due to “overtime.” There is much more to that story.

Ample overtime

Since the start of 2024, deputies have accrued overtime exceeding $1,000 approximately 35 times — nine of which were in excess of $2,000 and four that were greater than $3,000.

May was the most budget-depleting month, with deputies Cory Nacnac and Kevin Acdal earning a combined $26,355.34. Nacnac’s base pay was $6,619, and he earned an additional $6,047.66 in overtime. Acdal’s base pay is $6,364, and he earned $6,485.26 in overtime.

Pull Quote

‘Detectives Nacnac and Acdal dedicate a lot of time outside of their regular scheduled shifts to ensure that we can complete cases in the most comprehensive way possible.’

Hollie Billeci, chief civil deputy

The pay period for May shows that Nacnac claimed 287.25 hours, including 101.25 hours of overtime, and Acdal logged 294.25 hours that included 108.25 hours of overtime. Regular time for deputies is around 173.3 hours per month, based on a 2,080-hour work year.

The significant checks appear to be connected to Nacnac and Acdal’s work on the Jeffrey Beach murder case. Pacific County Prosecutor Michael Rothman and the two deputies worked a Special Inquiry Hearing to hammer down witness statements in mid-May, which resulted in the arrest of a suspect nine years after a murder.

Public records show the duo each worked 53.5 hours of “Detective Overtime” over three days.

Two roles at once?

However, public records shed light on an additional contributing factor.

Records suggest that Nacnac collected pay for his regular shift and detective overtime in overlapping periods on three separate dates in April 2024. On April 12, records show that he worked a regular shift from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. and a detective-overtime shift from 6:45 p.m. to 10:45 p.m.

The same records show shifts on April 13, of a regular shift from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and a detective overtime shift from 2:45 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., and on April 24, of a regular shift from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and a detective overtime shift from 7:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.

“Detective Nacnac checked into service at 8:45 a.m. in order to complete some tasks prior to his regular shift starting at noon,” Chief Civil Deputy Hollie Billeci said. “He then went out of service at 10:45 pm. In total, he worked 14 hours, which is accounted for on his time sheet. All instances you listed are the same situation.”

According to public records, Nacnac’s radio log and his time sheet vary. His call log shows that he went “busy” at 8:44 a.m. and went “ending tour of duty” at 10:39 p.m.

The other day in question, April 13, shows that Nacnac went “busy” at 4:45 a.m. and then went “ending tour of duty” at 10:28 p.m. Acdal had one day in question, May 16, when records show he worked a regular shift from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and detective overtime from 9:45 a.m. to 12 p.m.

“Detectives Nacnac and Acdal dedicate a lot of time outside of their regular scheduled shifts to ensure that we can complete cases in the most comprehensive way possible,” Billeci said. “We have ensured that regular shifts and OT shifts do not overlap in our payroll preparation and audit at the end of each month. The schedule, which you got a copy of, is issued well ahead of time, and variation and adjustment happen in real-time.”

“We have asked the employees to put the OT that they work around their shift in our system rather than entering at the end of working 10 hours regardless of when they start so it doesn’t appear to be overlapping. We are working on training to ensure everyone complies with that direction,” Billeci added.

The records, including time sheets, payroll and call logs, were obtained over the past month, and the time sheets specifically were provided by the county on June 5.

The current collective bargaining agreement between the county and deputies, which runs through the end of 2024, does not include a detective position; it only includes an incentive of overtime pay for hours worked as a detective. The incentive is the same as general overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times the deputies’ base hourly salary.

Mysterious to county

In a meeting with the Pacific County General Administrative Office on June 20, officials had no clue what to make of the time-sheet records.

“The time sheets up there are much different than what we do down here in [General Administration],” Chief Administrative Officer Paul Plakinger said. “I don’t really have a comment.”

The meeting did shed light on the status of the sheriff’s office budget and the outlook for overall county government. The county as a whole is predicting to finish the year in an ‘OK’ position, although economic headwinds could alter the outlook.

According to where the sheriff’s office budget stands at the moment, the agency has used $90,000 of its $130,000 overtime budget just halfway through the year, and the busiest season is just getting underway.

To stay within budget, the sheriff’s office must average $10,833.33 per month of overtime pay— $130,000 annually — and is currently averaging about $15,000, or $180,000 a year. If the average continues as it has, the agency could run out of overtime in less than three months.

Historically, the sheriff’s office was only given $75,000 a year for overtime and regularly kept within the limits prior to Sheriff Daniel Garcia’s term at the sheriff’s office.

The agency has said that overtime should go down now that all deputies are roadworthy and the roster is full — minus a 14th position they opted to forgo to add a fifth office clerk. It is to be seen if it will come to fruition.

More to go around

Nacnac and Acdal aren’t the only deputies with big payouts. Deputy Rafael Macintosh took home $9,071.40 for March, of which $5,892 was base pay.

Sgt. Kyle Pettit took home $9,485.10 for April, of which $7,612 was base pay. Nacnac took home $9,621.73 for April, of which $6,619 was base pay. Nick Zimmerman took home $10,861.73 for March, of which $7,612 was base pay.

Chief Civil Deputy Hollie Billeci received a $19,254.72 paycheck for March, including a $11,517.12 vacation accrual cash-out — although it was not a budget hit for the sheriff’s office because of how vacation payouts work.