WAVERLY, Ohio — Pike County government paid out more than $2.36 million in employee bonuses between January 2020 and April 2026, according to payroll records obtained by the Guardian through a public records request to the Pike County Auditor’s Office — and county commissioners have not responded to a separate formal request for documents explaining how those payments were authorized.
The records show 2,296 individual bonus payments made to 379 county employees across nearly every department in county government over that period, totaling $2,362,261.47.
Sheriff’s Office led all recipients
The Sheriff’s Office received the largest share of any single department — $710,098, or roughly 30 percent of all bonus payments countywide. Bonus spending peaked in 2022 and 2023, with approximately $534,000 and $538,000 paid out in those years, respectively.
The highest individual recipient in the records is Lisa Roberts, director of Pike County Children Services, who received $32,000 in total bonus payments over the period — including $8,000 in 2022 alone.
Federal COVID relief funds used for retention bonuses
Included in the bonus payments is $171,344 drawn from federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, distributed as retention bonuses primarily to Sheriff’s Office employees. Federal guidelines permit the use of ARPA funds for public safety employee retention, but those expenditures must be properly documented and reported to the U.S. Department of Treasury.
The payroll records identify more than a dozen separate bonus codes used across county departments, including Commissioner’s Bonuses distributed countywide, JFS contract signing bonuses, children’s services bonuses, health department retention bonuses, sheriff ARPA retention bonuses, and inflation bonuses dating to 2022.
Commissioners have not responded to public records request
What is not yet clear is the legal basis authorizing each of those bonus programs, or whether the county’s use of federal ARPA dollars was properly documented and reported to Treasury.
The Guardian submitted a formal public records request to the Pike County Board of Commissioners pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 149.43, seeking all resolutions, meeting minutes, and other documentation authorizing employee bonus programs from January 1, 2020, through the date of the request. The request also sought all ARPA expenditure reports submitted to the U.S. Department of Treasury related to employee retention bonuses.
The request was sent to the email address publicly listed on the Board’s official Facebook page. As of publication, no response of any kind has been received, including any written denial or explanation of delay.
The Guardian is following up through additional channels and will update this story as information is received. If the commissioners’ office believes the request was not received, they are encouraged to contact the Guardian directly.
This story will be updated as responses are received.