County to Combine Bailiff Services in Sheriff’s Department : Courts: Supervisors OK plan despite protest from judges. The consolidation will bring to an end the 43-year history of the marshal’s office.

After months of sniping between sheriff’s and marshal’s officials over which agency is best suited to provide court bailiff services, the County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to consolidate operations in the Sheriff’s Department in a bid to save millions of dollars.

The selection was made over the vociferous objections of municipal and Superior Court judges who turned up en masse at Tuesday’s board meeting to argue that marshal’s bailiffs are better suited to provide for their special needs.

However, a report presented by Chief Administrative Officer Sally Reed concluded that the Sheriff’s Department could achieve more immediate cost savings for the county, which is in the midst of an unprecedented fiscal crisis.

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“It’s going to be good for the county,” Sheriff Sherman Block said after the vote. “I think the judges are going to cooperate. They don’t have any other alternative. Failure to cooperate will only result in dysfunction.”

The consolidation will bring to an end the 43-year history of the marshal’s office, whose primary function has been to provide security for municipal courts. Most Superior Court bailiffs are sheriff’s deputies. The Sheriff’s Department will now oversee all 1,300 bailiffs, including those formerly with the marshal’s office.

“I’m disappointed,” county Marshal Robert R. Mann said. “It’s a wonderful department, outstanding in its field. I’ve been here for 27 years and I’m going to miss it.”

In proposals submitted to the board, Sheriff’s Department officials estimated the county could save $11.2 million a year by consolidating bailiff services in their department. The marshal’s office initially said it could save $8.4 million but later raised its estimate to $11.5 million. But the Sheriff’s Department estimated first year savings of $3.7 million, $1.1 million more than that proposed by the marshal.

Reed also concluded that the Sheriff’s Department could best maximize use of sworn officers during emergencies and maintain bailiff services under the consolidation with a minimal amount of disruption.

The judges who showed up Tuesday were not appeased.

Several Municipal Court judges who attended Tuesday’s meeting said they were worried that court duties would not be a high priority for the Sheriff’s Department.

“They’ll put the burnout cases here,” one judge said.

As part of the consolidation, which will take effect by July 1, sheriff’s officials and judges will form a committee to review several concerns raised by the judges.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the board heard a gloomy report from Reed that outlines its options should Proposition 172 fail. The measure on Tuesday’s ballot would permanently extend a half-cent increase in the sales tax with funds to be used for public safety programs.

The county projects it would receive $348.2 million annually, including $174 million to fund law enforcement programs during the remainder of this fiscal year. The board has already budgeted for the funds in its $13.5-billion spending plan.

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Should the measure fail, the report concludes, the county would be forced to decimate programs in the Sheriff’s Department and district attorney’s office or swing the budget ax across the board to all departments.

Should the Sheriff’s Department and district attorney’s office be called on to shoulder the entire burden, the impact on public safety could be devastating, said Reed, and result in:

* Potential loss of 3,464 sheriff’s deputies and 415 criminal prosecutors.

* Closure of 14,147 jail beds and release of 12,736 prisoners.

* A 62% reduction in sheriff’s patrol officers.

* Potential elimination of the district attorney’s special crime prosecution units, such as narcotics, major fraud and sexual abuse.

Times staff writer Tracey Kaplan contributed to this report.