MEMPHIS — Shelby County Commissioners scheduled an executive session for June 1 to review an $18 million settlement with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office and explore funding options. The settlement, signed by Mayor Lee Harris on May 1, requires payment within 30 days and must be approved by the commission.

The agreement resolves a lawsuit filed by Sheriff Floyd Bonner in August, which alleged the county withheld $67 million in FY2026 funding by not approving a salary petition for personnel and office expenditures. A confidential settlement was reached in February, prohibiting either party from disclosing details “to any member of the public or to the media without the express written consent of the parties.”

Of the $18 million, $16 million will cover overtime costs and the remainder will fund operational expenses such as new guns and ammunition. The Sheriff's Office has already incurred about $19 million in overtime costs, with totals expected to reach $27 million by the end of the fiscal year on July 1.

Commissioner Amber Mills criticized the settlement process, stating: “This is very, very odd, this whole agreement and the way that it’s been denied on record when asked about it. Then the major people involved don’t speak to it or don’t know about it. We have basically been thrown under the bus on this, if you read the agreement, that the mayor who didn’t know anything about did sign.” Commissioner Mick Wright said the commission can “either approve it or not approve it or perhaps alter it, or alter the source.” $11 million of the settlement is already allocated through the county’s new Oracle financial system, leaving $7 million still to be sourced.

Budget & Finance Committee chairman Michael Whaley proposed using vacancy savings from the elimination of 41 reserve positions, which generated about $31 million in savings.