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| Supes hear 'dire' budget forecasts |
| By COLBY FRAZIER - The Daily Sound |
| Published: 02/25/2009 |
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Facing deep cuts that could top $15 million this year, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors yesterday was briefed by department heads on what each department would look like with 10 percent less from the county’s general fund. Sheriff Bill Brown said a cut of this magnitude would cripple his department’s ability to adequately fight crime, and would have a “devastating” impact on public safety. Representatives from the District Attorney’s Office said prosecution of many misdemeanor offenses would cease, and due to lack of attorneys, case loads would increase, which would clog the court system. Elliot Schulman, director of the Public Health Department, said a number of services could be cut, especially those provided on a contract basis by local nonprofits. Though the Board of Supervisors won’t make any final decisions on what to cut and what to keep until a series of budget hearings in June, yesterday’s budget workshop gave a preview of the difficult decisions on the horizon. Many of the budgets on display will likely change over the coarse of the next few months. Even so, county leaders are expected to make wide-reaching cuts to both services and personnel. “This is an exercise to show us how dire the circumstance is,” said 1st District Supervisors Salud Carbajal. “When you’re looking at 15, 20, 30 or 50 positions in some cases, these are tough times.” In the case of the sheriff’s department, a 10 percent cut translates to $6.2 million less. Brown said a cut of this magnitude would eliminate 57 full-time jobs, shut the Santa Maria jail and eliminate dispatchers, investigators and two public information officers. Of the 57 lost jobs, 20 would be sworn sheriff’s deputies; all of whom Brown said have received an estimated $100,000 in training and education to become independent, able-bodied deputies. Closing the Santa Maria branch jail would result in 43 less jail beds — an amount Brown said would be a colossal blow to the county’s 30-plus year battle against chronic jail overcrowding. Such cuts, Brown said, would be “unacceptable.” “We would not longer be able to investigate certain types of crimes because of these reductions,” he said. “We are prepared to do everything we can without compromising our core services and compromising the public’s safety.” Brown said he’s prepared to absorb roughly $1.9 million in cuts, primarily by not filling positions that are currently vacant. However, when asked about two public information officer (PIO) positions that cost $179,731 per year, Brown said the county gets too much “bang for its buck,” to put these positions on the chopping block. He said the PIO’s act as valuable community outreach and education tools, which ultimately prevent crime. But even so, Carbajal said he’d like to see the PIO positions go before any deputies. “I would trade in a PIO for a cop any day,” he said. The District Attorney’s Office, which could lose 28.5 full-time positions, the Probation Department, facing a possible loss of 17.25 positions and the Public Health Department, also gave presentations. Remaining departments, such as alcohol, drug and mental health services, planning and development, general services and a number of others will have to wait for a future board meeting. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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