10% Budget Cut Would Close East Jail, Sheriff Says : Law enforcement: Three county supervisors, at a special workshop, express reluctance to trim the department.

Ventura County Sheriff Larry Carpenter warned the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday that he would have to end routine investigations of all but the most serious crimes, close down the jail in the east county and lay off up to 30 workers to absorb a proposed 10% budget cut next year.

Outlining the consequences a $4.8-million cut would have on his department, Carpenter told the supervisors at a special workshop that he also could be forced to eliminate anti-drug programs in county schools and scale back efforts to curb gang activity.

“As I stand before you now, I believe in my heart that if we eliminate these programs, a day will come when a major tragedy will occur as a result of our reduced law enforcement capability,” Carpenter said.

He urged the board to leave his budget unscathed, adding that he has already taken steps to slice spending $558,000 next fiscal year by streamlining the department’s top management.

“We have dismantled as much of this organization as we dare,” he said.

After Carpenter’s hourlong presentation, Supervisors Maria VanderKolk, Vicky Howard and Maggie Kildee indicated their reluctance to make cuts in the sheriff’s budget.

“I think the board is very pro-law enforcement,” Howard said after the meeting. “We’ve said that from the beginning.”

VanderKolk added: “I will not support any cuts for the Sheriff’s Department. I really do believe that crime is getting worse and their budget is strapped to the limit.”

The county is faced with a projected loss of $50 million to $60 million in state funding for next fiscal year, officials said. At least $36 million of the money would be drawn from the county’s General Fund, which finances law enforcement, social services and internal operations.

The supervisors in February ordered all county department heads to find cuts in their budgets ranging from 10% to 12.5%. But law enforcement and health services departments were instructed to present two proposals, one reflecting a 7.5% cut and another a 10% reduction.

Carpenter presented a 20-page report to the board outlining his proposed reductions. In order of priority, the list includes:

* Closing the sheriff’s training academy for any new trainees.

* Eliminating the West County D.A.R.E. program, which provides anti-drug courses to youngsters at 25 schools.

* Cutting the unit that investigates all forgeries, frauds and major embezzlements.

* Pulling two deputies and a sergeant from duty as bailiffs in the East County Courthouse in Simi Valley, depriving the two courtrooms there of the officers they need to operate legally.

* Closing the East Valley Sheriff’s Station jail by pulling out eight employees, forcing Simi Valley police and sheriff’s deputies who book suspects there to drive to Ventura instead.

* Eliminating positions of two deputies who sift through major-crime arrest warrants now on file and give patrol deputies lists of suspects who may be easy to find.

* Closing the Lockwood Valley sheriff’s station, leaving deputies in Ojai or neighboring counties to respond to emergencies.

* Scaling back the search-and-rescue unit by eliminating a sergeant and a helicopter pilot.

Carpenter said he is hopeful that the board will “leave my budget intact and let me work through the year” to come up with ways to save money.

“I have hopes the board will make the appropriate decision when the time comes,” he said. “I think they are being very cautious. It is very much a wait-and-see situation.”

Meanwhile, Carpenter is helping a newly formed group, Citizens for a Safe Ventura County, inform residents about his plight. The group was formed by several county residents concerned about difficulties in the Sheriff’s Department.

So far, they have sent out flyers to thousands of county residents encouraging them to speak out against any law enforcement cuts. The group is also running ads featuring Carpenter on local radio stations.

“Our motto is, ‘Not one penny,’ ” said Harvey Plaks, vice president of the group and a Moorpark resident.

On Tuesday, nearly 40 members of the group attended the supervisors’ meeting to urge the board not to reduce the sheriff’s budget.

“Your job is to protect life and property,” Plaks told the supervisors. “Give us what we are entitled to. You cannot go to a library if it’s not safe in the streets. Rather than cutting the budget of the Sheriff’s Department, you should be looking for ways to augment the budget.”

“Everyone has the right to feel safe without fear of attack,” group member Rick Gatling told the board. “We need great leaders. We need people who are going to take a stand. Now is not the time to cut back deputy sheriff’s positions.”