Budget Talks Between Sheriff, CAO Reach Impasse

Ventura County Chief Administrator Harry Hufford and Sheriff Bob Brooks moved closer to a budget showdown Thursday, with Hufford calling off negotiations on a proposed $6.5-million cut to the Sheriff’s Department.

Saying Hufford is “not the ultimate decision maker,” Brooks vowed to take his case directly to the Board of Supervisors.If his appeal is not heeded, the sheriff said, he would consider filing a lawsuit against the county for allegedly violating a local ordinance aimed at protecting law enforcement budgets.

“The Board of Supervisors, as a policy matter, has to decide what’s important to the county,” Brooks said. “Cuts of this magnitude basically erase the progress of the last seven years. It would be catastrophic from our point of view.”

To satisfy Hufford’s recommendations, Brooks said, he would have to cut 77 full-time positions, including staff at the East Valley Jail and the Sheriff’s Crime Suppression Unit used by cities across the county.

Supervisors Frank Schillo and John Flynn said they stand behind Hufford’s attempt to balance the county’s $1-billion budget by recommending cuts in every department, including those of the sheriff and Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury.

In the past, law enforcement agencies have survived unscathed during budget time, while other county departments have been forced to scale back. But Schillo said all departments must be willing to endure cuts in light of the county’s recent financial troubles.

The supervisor, who has been a close ally of the sheriff, criticized Brooks for calling Hufford’s recommended 4.3% cut in his departmental budget “catastrophic.”

“Harry is not going to be kowtowed,” Schillo said. “He’s not going to be affected by games. And putting gang suppression [on the list of cuts] is a game.”

Schillo said the sheriff could immediately eliminate his vacant staff positions--which now total 115--and save his department more than $3 million and avoid any potential layoffs.

Supervisor Kathy Long, who helped recruit Hufford and has fought to give him more authority over budget matters, was reluctant to endorse his plan outright.

“I’m not going to give a blanket answer” on the proposed cuts, she said. “I think that it will be up to [Hufford and Brooks] to do their job and bring the board something.”

Camarillo City Councilman Mike Morgan, Long’s opponent in a November runoff election, said the proposed cuts in the Sheriff’s Department are too drastic.

Three cities that contract for service with the county Sheriff’s Department--Moorpark, Thousand Oaks and Camarillo--are among the safest in the nation because of the department’s efforts, Morgan said.

“To take a 77 officer cut, that’s pretty strong,” he said.

Negotiations between Brooks and Hufford collapsed late Wednesday after the sheriff announced he would go directly to the Board of Supervisors if Hufford refused to back down on his budget proposal.

All county departments would undergo cuts under Hufford’s plan, which also calls for a 2.5% reduction in each county supervisor’s budget. Hufford’s final budget plan will be presented to the board June 13.

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Although Hufford called Brooks’ list of cuts “draconian,” he said a series of state grants that the county is expecting to receive ultimately could help offset any major reductions.

“We’re in a very key stage in the preparation of the budget, but we aren’t there yet,” he said.

Hufford said he hopes his proposed budget cuts will help convince Moody’s Investor Services that the county is taking seriously the recent downgrading of its credit worthiness. Hufford and the supervisors are scheduled to meet with representatives of the bond-rating agency in New York on June 7.

Last week, Moody’s lowered Ventura County’s long-term credit rating from A1 to A2, with a “negative outlook,” effectively making it more costly for the county to borrow money for capital projects.

In addition to cuts in the Sheriff’s Department, Hufford has called for a $660,000 reduction in the district attorney’s office.

But Bradbury downplayed the conflict, saying he believed that additional state money and increased property taxes could resolve some of the county’s budget problems.

“We are in a dialogue with Mr. Hufford regarding our budget and believe that we will arrive at a mutually acceptable result,” he said. “We believe this is a worst-case scenario budget. We are in ongoing discussions and believe that we will be able to amicably resolve the budget issues to our mutual satisfaction.”

Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Greg Totten said the office’s consumer fraud and environmental protection divisions would likely face the first round of cuts.

On Thursday, the sheriff proposed cutting 49 patrol positions to save $4 million and eliminating 15 positions in the department’s gang unit to preserve another $1.6 million. An additional $900,000 would be saved by cutting nine positions at the East Valley Jail, three part-time positions at resource centers in Ojai, Piru and Saticoy and one deputy from the violent crime task force in Oxnard.

Brooks said that the 77 positions he plans to cut would not involve layoffs. He said he plans to move those staff positions to openings in his core departments, such as narcotics and the county crime lab.

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If additional cuts are needed, Brooks said, he proposed reducing the county’s K-9 unit and mounted patrol.

Schillo promised to help offset the reductions in the sheriff’s budget if Brooks agrees to Hufford’s proposal.

“Bob would be better dealing with Harry than with the board,” Schillo said.

“We’re now where the rubber hits the road and we have to say: ‘How are we going to solve this problem?’ ” Schillo said.

“And we need the help of everyone in the county government.”