NORWICH – The Chenango Sheriff’s Office is dealing with a high staff turnover rate that’s draining the department of hundreds of thousands in overtime expenses.

Additional overtime funds of $205,000 were approved by the Chenango County Board of Supervisors last week, permitting the Sheriff’s Office to pay overtime to several of its employees. Meanwhile, Sheriff Earnest Cutting said 14 new officers and four recruits are currently in academy and that overtime expenses should be cut down when training is finished.

Cutting presented his request for a money transfer to the county’s Safety and Rules Committee in June. The good news, he told committee members, is that funds to cover overtime expenses exist within the department’s overall budget but still need the board’s approval to be reallocated to cover overtime.

Overtime at the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office has been consistently mounting over the last five years. In 2013, less than $600,000 was spent on overtime. By 2017, the department spent $821,000.