Ventura County Sheriff Seeks to Hire Law Firm

Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks sought a court order Tuesday allowing him to hire a private law firm in his threatened lawsuit against the Board of Supervisors.

Brooks is asking Superior Court Judge Bruce Clark to find that the county’s lawyers have a conflict of interest in representing both the sheriff and the board over differing interpretations of a public safety funding formula.

Brooks contends the board in 2001 illegally altered the formula, resulting in reduced funding to the sheriff and three other public safety departments.

Clark is expected to hear the matter today. Meanwhile, at Tuesday’s supervisors meeting, board members again criticized the pending lawsuit as a waste of taxpayer money and urged the sheriff to work out differences during a difficult financial period. Brooks last week said he was considering closing two jails and shutting down a gang suppression task force to deal with an estimated $10 million in reduced funding. Totten has said he will have to cut at least 30 jobs to make up for $2.8 million in reduced funding.

But Brooks said he has no choice but to proceed with litigation. With reduced funding, he can no longer adequately protect the public, Brooks said Tuesday.