GREENFIELD — Franklin County’s interim sheriff is defending her spending of civil process fees, which were partially used to furnish the Sheriff’s Suite and pay for some expenses when department members marched in the 2025 Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Lori Streeter provided the Greenfield Recorder with detailed explanations of several purchases, which included $3,000 for matching hooded sweatshirts and $7,200 for parade float materials, office decor and blinds. Sheriff’s departments collect civil process fees associated with serving subpoenas, seizing property, serving notices of depositions and other functions of their civil process divisions.
In Massachusetts, civil process fees collected by sheriffs’ offices are primarily used for running their civil process operations — such as personnel, equipment and administration — but surplus funds have funded other expenses.
Civil process money faces little to no state oversight, but sheriffs’ spending is coming under increased scrutiny this year. The Democrat-led state Legislature held back tens of millions of dollars in funding for their offices, citing what legislative leaders called “questionable spending practices.”
“Over the past few months, serious questions and concerns have been raised about the financial and operational integrity of our sheriffs’ offices across the commonwealth,” Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, and Sen. Michael Rodrigues, chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, said in a joint statement in October regarding funding for sheriffs’ offices in the fiscal year 2025 closeout supplemental budget. “It is clear that the Legislature must act to rein in questionable spending practices and restore public confidence in the sheriffs’ operations.”
The spending of Franklin County’s civil process money — and that of every other county in Massachusetts — was the subject of a Boston Globe article in late December.
“Several sheriffs said the civil process fees they collect are often barely enough to cover the civil process work, especially because some of the fees, such as $20 for serving a summons, haven’t increased in over two decades,” the Globe reported.
Streeter said there are no restrictions on how civil process money can be spent, however it is always put toward agency needs. She said the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office typically uses it to buy vehicles, for specialty training, and for underfunded items and equipment. She said she is unsure how much civil process money is currently available.
Streeter said her department’s participation in various parades, including the one in Holyoke, supports her goal of making the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office a more active community partner. According to Streeter, the money spent on the St. Patrick’s Day Parade included supplying administrative staff with sweatshirts that were selected as the “administrative outreach and engagement uniform.” This attire was issued to those who volunteer to represent the agency at community events.
“My goals for this are three-fold,” she said in a statement. “I want citizens to have the ability to interact with our staff to foster much-needed goodwill between law enforcement and the public. Second, as any officer will attest, corrections is demanding, and can be a thankless job. This leads to burnout, personal struggle and ultimately the difficult retention numbers we have in sheriff’s offices throughout the state.
“Getting our staff together off-shift in a fun, healthy environment promotes collegiality,” Streeter continued, “which they take back to the workplace.”
The interim sheriff, selected for the position in January 2025 by Gov. Maura Healey to replace Christopher Donelan, said the third objective of parade participation is to help boost an officer’s outlook on their career when members of the public, especially those who have been inmates at the House of Correction, interact with staff.
The interim sheriff mentioned her agency has also participated in the Franklin County Pride, Shelburne Falls Independence Day, Franklin County Fair and Greenfield Veterans Day parades, along with the public safety event at the Franklin County Fairgrounds.
“These parades were all volunteer participation and in many cases, FCSO-logoed attire was purchased personally by administrative and other staff who participated,” she explained in her statement.
Streeter acknowledged that $17 was spent on a green outfit for Lucky, the department’s comfort dog who participates in parades and visits schools, summer camps, the Franklin County Justice Center, senior centers, and other agencies and events.
Regarding the office purchases, Streeter explained the money was spent on decor throughout the Sheriff’s Suite, which she said consists of three offices, a reception area, the executive assistant desk area and a conference room. She said the purchases consisted of a chair, couch, wall pictures, end tables and lamps for the reception area.
“Additionally, we purchased blinds for eight offices outside of the Executive Suite,” Streeter explained. “The blinds purchased replaced the original blinds dating back to 2007.”
The Boston Globe also recently reported that Streeter took a $55,000 buyout in unused leave last year when she was appointed to her interim position. Streeter told the Recorder this was vacation time she had accrued during her nearly four decades with the department. She said sheriffs do not earn vacation or sick time, but rather, they begin a calendar year with those days off.
Streeter said her $191,000 salary is decided by the state Legislature and she has committed to not taking any incentives afforded to the department’s employees.
Streeter announced in March 2025 that she plans to run for sheriff in her own right and seek the Democratic nomination on the November ballot.