CUMBERLAND — The Allegany County Board of Commissioners fired off the latest salvo between it and Sheriff David Goad by refusing to credit two sheriff’s deputies for services performed during a Halloween activity last month at Country Club Mall in LaVale.

Commissioner Dale Lewis said Thursday at the close of the commissioners’ weekly public meeting that the two deputies and Goad had not followed state law and county policy regarding overtime compensation. County Attorney Bill Rudd said that anytime deputies are to work for a private entity, such as the J.J. Gumberg Co.-owned mall, the commissioners must approve the event. Goad and a second official identified the two deputies as Andrew Mackert and Craig Bridges.

Otherwise, county policy is to bill the company for services rendered. Rudd said when he contacted the security firm that contracts with the mall, the supervisor there said the message conveyed to him was that the deputies would be volunteering their time.

The deputies submitted a request for a combined 5 1/2 hours for the Oct. 29 Trick-or-Treat event. Lewis said he didn’t blame the deputies for requesting compensation and said they were “misled.”

“I do not think it was their fault,” Lewis said. “Hopefully, the sheriff might someday get the message there’s rules and regulations to be followed.”

A memo Monday from Eberly to Goad made the denial official.

“The services performed by these two officers were provided to a private business entity,” Eberly said, “and the county is unable to credit these officers with comp time. As you are no doubt aware, the county has an established procedure for compensating off-duty overtime to private entities ... that process was not followed.”

Earlier, Goad had called the comp time denial “underhanded.”

“We had two guys on their own time,” Goad said. “(Mall security chief) Mike Wade said, if you have anybody, send them up. The deputies went and worked ... to help Mike with 1,000 kids. Then the county backdoored us. They went to corporate headquarters.”

No grants were able to be used for the event, Goad said. Goad wasn’t aware the county had sought reimbursement from J.J. Gumberg Co. until Wade called him about it.

Rudd and Eberly both defended the decision. The hourly rate for private, off-duty overtime is significantly less than comp time — ordinarily a day off for the deputy. Eberly said that debt, if it were valid, would eventually need to be reconciled at a total far exceeding the lower, $7-per-hour rate the deputies normally earn for off-duty overtime events.

“If the mall has to pay, the deputies should be paid comp time,” Goad said.

Rudd didn’t necessarily disagree. After his inquiry, he said the mall was not being asked to pay the county. Therefore, no money or comp time would be forthcoming to the deputies.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.