Spending by Massachusetts sheriffs is “a bit like the wild west,” according to the state’s Office of the Inspector General, which issued a report on state sheriff spending Monday.
The 190-page report called the sheriffs’ budgeting process “chaotic” and it expands on a preliminary report the inspector general released in February.
The elected officials’ spending resulted in a combined $110 million deficit in the last fiscal year — after more than $725 million had been budgeted. The deficit prompted lawmakers to seek the inspector general’s report on spending by the state’s 14 sheriffs, who oversee Massachusetts’ jails and houses of correction. An estimated 5,500 people were in custody in state jails in 2024…