A north Alabama judge says a current sheriff should get disputed jail food funds, not his predecessor.

WHNT-TV reports Marshall County Circuit Judge Chris Abel ruled that current Marshall County Sheriff Phil Sims should get the nearly $24,000.Former sheriff Scott Walls argued he should be allowed to pocket the money, a practice allowed until recently.

The judge ruled for the new sheriff, saying Sims should get the money in his capacity as sheriff, and not as an individual.

The ruling does not affect Walls’ separate lawsuit against the state comptroller challenging Gov. Kay Ivey’s edict that sheriffs could no longer pocket food money.

The two sheriffs have also clashed over purchases Walls made after losing the election, including 20,000 rolls of toilet paper and 55-gallon (208-liter) drums of dishwashing soap.
(Associated Press, copyright 2018)

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