(The Center Square) – Arapahoe County is disputing the sheriff’s office explanation of how $380,000 of taxpayer dollars ended up going to a nonprofit organization set up to promote the sheriff’s office.
The county and sheriff’s office are in a dispute over what the county is calling an “unauthorized transfer” of $380,000 to a nonprofit named Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office Foundation. Ken McKlem is listed as on the command staff as a bureau chief of public safety for the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Department as well as secretary and treasurer of the nonprofit.
Arapahoe County said the sheriff’s version of events was inaccurate that appeared in a July 9 story in The Center Square.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office released a statement July 15 that stated Cherry Creek Schools would donate $500,000 to the county to be used solely for the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office described the $500,000 as a “gift.”
The sheriff’s office stated only $310,000 of that $500,000 was budgeted by the county for the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office said that $190,000 from 2023 was accounted for by the contribution to the nonprofit and another $190,000 was given back to the county in 2024. That accounted for the $380,000 and the sheriff’s office said it made no attempt to circumvent any county processes.
The county responded by saying the $500,000 is a required payment, not a donation, and was part of a contractual agreement with the school district.
The county said the sheriff’s office did not seek to modify the budget when it saw the county had budgeted $310,000 out of the $500,000 payment. The county said that $310,000 was a “starting point.”
The county stated that it has email documentation that the reason $380,000 was sent to the nonprofit foundation by the Sheriff’s office was “to avoid the Board of County Commissioners taking it for the general fund.” The county stated the sheriff’s office didn’t have legal authority to give money to an “outside organization” just because the full amount owed by Cherry Creek Schools was not in the budget.
The county also stated it has not accounted for the $190,000 sent to the nonprofit and cannot verify how items were purchased by the nonprofit because the transactions were handled by the nonprofit foundation, not the county.
The county said using its taxpayer dollars for the nonprofit foundation to buy equipment for law enforcement purposes “circumvents the statutory oversight” of the Board of County Commissioners.
When contacted about the county’s response, the sheriff’s office does not wish to comment further and stands by its original statement.
