CLEVELAND — Cuyahoga County Sheriff Harold Pretel has filed a civil lawsuit against County Executive Chris Ronayne, who wants to take control of the sheriff's fiscal operations.
Last week, News 5 Investigators showed how nearly a dozen sheriff's department employees banked over $100K in overtime last year.
Battle over overtime in Cuyahoga County.
RELATED: The most powerful officials in Cuyahoga County government are openly feuding
The lawsuit says Ronayne is violating the county charter, the county code, and the Ohio Revised Code by ignoring the independence of the sheriff's department.
County records showed six top overtime earners who made more than $120K in overtime in 2025.
Ronayne claims overtime is getting rubber-stamped with no management signature and said he hired the sheriff and believes he should manage him.
The lawsuit states that in 2024, Ronayne improperly commandeered human resources management from the sheriff's control and is now actively seeking to take over the sheriff's department's finances, including reassigning employees under his office and taking over payroll.
The lawsuit says Ronayne has exceeded his authority, and there is a real and continuing threat that he will attempt to take over more functions that are under the control of the sheriff, who was appointed to the role.
Ronayne's office sent a statement:
"Cuyahoga County is aware of the lawsuit filed by Sheriff Harold Pretel. While we cannot comment directly on pending litigation, we are disappointed that Sheriff Pretel has chosen to waste public taxpayer money on a meritless lawsuit. We will continue to maintain strong financial controls for all County departments, including the Sheriff’s Department, while keeping our focus on serving the residents of Cuyahoga County, where it belongs."
