Deputy Sheriffs’ Pay Raise Dispute

I have lived in Ventura County since I came to this state from Colorado in 1989. I researched long and hard for a safe county in Southern California and because of its low crime rate, I decided on here.

I have become increasingly concerned over the ongoing dispute between the Deputy Sheriffs Assn. and the county Board of Supervisors regarding a fair contract. If the county refuses to give our law enforcement officers pay that is comparable to other police agencies in Southern California, we will end up losing the safety we now have. We will be left with half-rate and inexperienced officers. We may even end up with the type of police force that will put this county in the middle of a scandal such as L.A.’s Rampart Division.

We as voters have let the Board of Supervisors know how we feel, and it is apparent that they lied when they said during their campaigns that they cared. They have chosen to ignore our feelings on a fair contract for the deputies, on how to resolve contract disputes, and if the disputes can’t be settled between the two sides, arbitration is appropriate. Now, who can we trust to be a voice for us, the voter?

It appears we are now left with people in charge who have no care for what the voters of this county want. They have their own agenda for their own gain, at the expense of us. If they truly believe that we will forget when the next election comes around, they are in for a rude awakening.

We can no longer and will no longer stand by and watch while our money is wasted doing things that we have clearly voiced our opinion we are against. It is time for the county to pay our deputies what everyone else is paying theirs.

Fair is fair. There is no way around that fact. It is time for the supervisors to start playing on that level or to get out of their jobs. It is very obvious that they are no longer capable of being effective with their leadership.

I for one am tired of being lied to. I think we should not pay the Board of Supervisors and give their salaries to the deputies who are very willing to listen and to go out of their way to help.

I don’t think that if they put their lives on the line everyday that they would want their benefits taken away or their salaries lowered. They are a bunch of administrators who whine and complain about those very things and they make more than most deputies. Where is the fairness in that?

Angela L. Killian

Ventura