I want to thank you for your articles documenting the over-budget costs incurred by our Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s department. As tax-paying, full-time resident of Santa Barbara County I am extremely disturbed to learn about the millions of dollars in overtime spending that has already cost our county dearly.
In these difficult times, with the withdrawal of many federal and state promised funding, everyone is being asked to “do more with less.” The county’s $66 million budget hole leaves our community with a multitude of unmet needs. Parks are being left in disrepair, potholes are unfilled, and sidewalks are cracked and split resulting in a danger to young and old who can easily slip and fall when simply out for a stroll. In addition, badly needed health and human services are being reduced for our most vulnerable populations
That makes it especially sad to learn that these badly needed dollars are all being used to backfill the cost overruns of the County Sheriff’s Office. Why isn’t the Sheriff being asked to tighten his department? Instead, using the mantra of “inadequate staffing” he is asking for overtime costs this year that are expected to reach over $20 million. Twenty-nine employees earning more in OT than in their base salary sounds extreme. I was curious to learn that his department is less understaffed than many of our other county agencies. If they can do more with less, why can’t he.? He has had an okay to hire additional officers but as of now says they are “not ready for the field.” Why not? What are they doing?
I personally am glad that supervisors Capps and Hartmann have bravely called for a true audit and an increased accountability for Sheriff Brown’s department. Now it seems that we are simply wasting badly needed money.
