DENVER (KDVR) — Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons is suing the Summit County Board of County Commissioners after it filed a resolution that the sheriff says retroactively denies funding for staffing expenses.

The sheriff said that the board had denied a supplemental budget and appropriation of $1.26 million for the sheriff's office's 2024 staffing expenses. The wages had been earned by staff, approved by the county manager and finance director, and paid through standard payroll, according to FitzSimons.

“This legal action is necessary to protect my ability to fulfill the statutory responsibilities entrusted to me by the people of Summit County,” said Sheriff FitzSimons. “I remain hopeful these issues can be resolved amicably. As a three-term elected Sheriff, I will continue to stand up for the public safety resources our community has come to depend on.”

The commissioners' meeting minutes from May 13 show that there were concerns raised by the finance director that the sheriff's office has had salary overages for three consecutive years.

FitzSimons said in a press release that the 2024 budget amendment, which was what the commissioners voted upon last month, supports staffing and overtime expenses associated with a commissioner-approved compensation plan from 2022. FitzSimons said that in 2022, the sheriff's office, county staff and the county's commissioners at that time developed a compensation package that would help with recruiting and retention.

“History can’t be rewritten just because the landscape has shifted,” said Sheriff FitzSimons. “Denying pay retroactively undermines our ability to retain and recruit personnel, contradicting the purpose of the plan we created together.”