February 27, 2026

Barnstable County Sheriff’s Response to the Inspector General’s Preliminary Review of Sheriffs’ Budgets and Expenditures

As recognized by the Office of Inspector General’s preliminary report that was released Friday, for years the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office’s annual budget appropriations (or General Appropriations Act - GAA) have not reflected the true cost of operating the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office. As further acknowledged by the preliminary report, it has been the historic practice for the Legislature to use the supplemental budget process to fully fund the Sheriffs’ offices.     

That's why we welcome this report and any improvements that can be made to the funding formula to correct this long-standing structural deficit.

We agree with the Inspector General’s statement: “Sheriffs should be provided with a reasonable budget in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) to meet their mandate and then held accountable to operate within that constraint.” Supplemental funding can then be used as it was intended, to address unforeseen circumstances – like a snowstorm.

While we agree with many of the recommended reforms — giving us a realistic budget at the beginning of each fiscal year chief among them — it does not fall within the purvey of the Legislative Mandate for the Inspector General to direct the Legislature to assign specific roles and responsibilities to the sheriffs’ offices.

Barnstable County Sheriff Donna D. Buckly believes the report demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of the elected office of sheriff, which is to represent the public safety needs of our specific communities. In Barnstable, our office has existed for 334 years, and our roles are foundational parts of the public safety structure. Public safety depends upon many agencies working together to be responsive to our community. As elected officials, sheriffs must have flexibility and autonomy, within reason and within our budgets, to be responsive to the specific needs of our communities. 

The Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office understands and respects the Legislature’s responsibility to ensure fiscal transparency and accountability.  We share that commitment to responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.  

Overall, we are grateful for this report. The Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office sees it as a positive step toward a sensible solution.