Sheriff, commissioners head to court over vehicle fleet policy

Sheriff James Albert claims vehicle GPS tracking infringes on his autonomy, while commissioners defend the policy as routine county management

By RICH CHOLODOFSKY
TribLive

The list of disputes between two-term Sheriff James Albert and Westmoreland County leaders has never been longer.

Tension between the sheriff and commissioners will be the subject of a court hearing today when Common Pleas Judge Harry Smail Jr. presides over a nonjury trial in Albert’s lawsuit seeking to invalidate a county fleet policy enacted in 2024.

The two sides clashed last week over the sheriff’s implementation of a new K-9 program, as the three county commissioners objected, saying it was done without their approval.

Meanwhile, the county’s president judge criticized Albert over his decision to temporarily reorganize the sheriff’s office fugitive warrant service team and halt its operations, demanding it resume work.

Albert resumed his office’s warrant service Thursday. He could not be reached for comment for this story.

Commissioners and Albert have also squabbled over the past two years over issues that included the sheriff’s plans to halt taking inmates to hospitals and court hearings, as well as overtime paid to deputies.

Settlement possible

The trial over the fleet policy originally was expected to take place in September but was postponed amid ongoing settlement talks. So far, no settlement has been reached.

The sheriff has objected to a requirement in the policy that calls for GPS tracking of vehicles, claiming it violates his autonomy as an independent elected official. Albert claims the vehicle monitoring is a power play by commissioners to potentially intervene in personnel decisions and could endanger the safety of his deputies.

The commissioners contend the policy was designed to ensure county vehicles are properly used. They deny that it was crafted to influence personnel decisions.

The commissioners recently amended the fleet policy with language they said strengthens that argument. The amendment states: “Nothing in this policy should be construed to abrogate or otherwise limit the rights of the judges or other elected officials with regard to hiring, supervising and/or terminating employees insofar those rights are granted to such officials by provisions of the county code.”

The Pennsylvania Sheriffs Association intervened in the lawsuit and participated in previous court arguments to bolster Albert’s case. Representatives of the sheriffs association did not respond to TribLive’s requests for comment.

Broader regional trend

Contentious relations among county leaders and an elected sheriff are not unique to Westmoreland County.

In neighboring Allegheny County, Sheriff Kevin Kraus has been vocal in challenging budget proposals for his office, citing the need for rising overtime costs. In August, Kraus ordered a halt to having his deputies guard Allegheny County Jail inmates in local hospitals, saying the program had become too expensive.

Since taking office in 2020, Albert has been at odds with the Westmoreland commissioners. Originally elected as a Democrat, Albert switched his political affiliation to Republican less than a year into his first term. The party switch hasn’t spared him from fighting with the commissioners, where Republicans Sean Kertes and Doug Chew have held the majority for the past six years.

Tension between the elected sheriff and commissioners has been a recurring issue in Westmoreland County for more than a decade, spanning multiple officeholders. Conflicts between both a previous Democratic-controlled board of commissioners and GOP Sheriff Jonathan Held were standard practice until Held was ousted by Albert in the 2019 election.

Former Westmoreland County Commissioner Tom Balya, a Democrat, said the conflicts among county leaders and the sheriff are a relatively recent phenomenon. He said during his 16 years as chairman of the board of commissioners, which ended in 2011, there was rarely any conflict with the sheriff.

“Maybe there’s some personality issues now,” Balya said. “When I was there we didn’t always agree on everything, but never like this.”