Hill v. Clayton County Bd. of Commrs

In Hill v. Clayton County Bd. of Commrs., 283 Ga. App. 15, 17 (1) (a) (640 SE2d 638) (2006), a county challenged the sheriff's decision to use forfeited drug money (allocated to the sheriff by federal statute) to repaint the vehicles and offices of the sheriff's department. The Court held that "the Sheriff necessarily had the power to make purchases from third parties in the pursuit of his law enforcement duties." Hill, 283 Ga. App. at 19 (1) (b). The Court cited OCGA 42-4-4 (a) (2), which requires the sheriff to furnish prisoners with basic necessities. The Court concluded that the sheriff could contract with third parties to paint the vehicles, but he could not unilaterally decide to paint his offices within the county's office building because of statutes granting authority over county buildings to the commissioners. Hill, 283 Ga. App. at 20. In Hill, the funds at issue were "'forfeited drug funds' distributed to the sheriff's office through federal agencies." Hill, 283 Ga. App. at 16. Accordingly, the county's authority and its power under local legislation had to "yield to the general law requiring that funds forfeited under federal law be utilized by the law enforcement agency to which it is transferred." Id. at 19 (1) (b). Although Hill makes clear that sheriffs have authority to "make purchases from third parties in the pursuit of their law enforcement duties," id., nothing in Hill suggests that sheriffs may earn and retain revenue from such contracts. Fourth, although a sheriff is authorized by the legislature to collect certain fees, such as fees for transporting prisoners, summoning witnesses, attending court, etc., the relevant Code section provides that "all such fees shall be turned over to the county treasurer or fiscal officer of the county." OCGA 15-16-21 (a).