Brooks Might Postpone Jail’s Closing

Responding to protests, Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks said Tuesday that he might be able to delay the closure of the East County Jail, but not for long.

Brooks announced last week that he would close the Olsen Road booking facility on Aug. 17 because the costs of running his department have outstripped revenue.

Supervisors gave the Sheriff’s Department a 3.75% budget increase for the 2003-04 fiscal year, which began July 1, but costs have risen 17%, Brooks said. On Friday, Brooks said he had no choice but to close the jail to save money.

Shuttering the bottom floor of the 15-year-old building, where about 3,500 suspects are booked into custody each year, is expected to save $800,000. Nine officers are to be transferred.

But his threat has been roundly criticized by officials in Thousand Oaks and Moorpark, as well as by county Supervisors Judy Mikels and Linda Parks.

Closing the jail would require deputies to book suspects at the main jail in Ventura, taking law-enforcement officers off the streets for longer periods of time, opponents have said.

At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, both Mikels and Parks said they hoped to find a compromise. Brooks said he was planning to meet with the county leaders today to discuss the issue.

Although he declined to discuss details, Brooks said he would tell the supervisors he may be able to keep the jail open “for a while longer.” But the facility would eventually have to shut down, the sheriff said, if additional money was not found.

Officials in Thousand Oaks and Moorpark are concerned that the increased booking time will mean that officers will take longer to respond to calls for service in their communities.

The threatened closure comes as Brooks and Dist. Atty. Greg Totten prepare to file a lawsuit against the Board of Supervisors over disputed funding levels.

Under a court order, they have until Friday to file the civil suit.