78 Deputy Jobs Vacant, Sheriff Brooks Tells Board

Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks told supervisors Tuesday that he needs a full-time recruiter to help fill dozens of vacant deputy positions.

Presenting his budget requests to supervisors, Brooks also said he wants to reinstate a six-deputy gang unit and begin planning for expansion of the Todd Road Jail.

The sheriff is seeking an additional $18.7 million for new services and projects in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Brooks was the first of several county department heads expected to plead for additional dollars as the Board of Supervisors debates passage of a $1.5-billion budget over the next two weeks. Supervisors can approve funding more programs or hew closely to the preliminary budget package offered last month by County Executive Officer Johnny Johnston.

Johnston recommended no significant new spending but anticipated no cuts or layoffs. Budget managers are forecasting a 10% rise in general fund revenues, primarily due to booming property tax receipts.

Some departments will get cost-of-living increases, but Johnston also advocates diverting $4 million to the county’s depleted reserves. At least one city, Thousand Oaks, and several other county department heads are expected to make their pitches for funding next week.

Brooks’ request comes one week after he and Dist. Atty. Gregory Totten announced they would ask the California Supreme Court to review an appellate court’s decision affirming that the supervisors have control of public safety budgets.

The ruling was a blow to the lawmen, who had long contended that a local ordinance enacted by the Board of Supervisors in 1995, but never voted on, gave them exclusive right to a portion of the county’s general fund. They sued the board over the issue in 2003.

But a ruling last month by the 2nd District Court of Appeal found that the ordinance exceeded the electorate’s power and was constitutionally invalid. After consulting with attorneys, Brooks and Totten decided to petition for review by the state Supreme Court.

“We’re not fighting about money anymore, that’s a misperception,” Totten said Tuesday after the sheriff made his presentation to the board.

He noted that he, the sheriff and the board came to agreement over the budget issue last year and have honored a written settlement agreement. He and Brooks decided to go to the Supreme Court to settle public policy questions underlying the decade-long battle, Totten said.

“What the sheriff and I are trying to protect is the electorate’s authority to say how its money should be spent,” the district attorney said. “The appellate court ruled that the voters don’t have that power.”

On Tuesday, neither Brooks nor the supervisors brought up the continuing litigation. Brooks focused his remarks on programs that he would like to see funded in the coming fiscal year.

A full-time recruiter, along with a detailed recruitment strategy, would help him fill positions that are already funded, Brooks said.

The Sheriff’s Department is allotted 748 deputy slots, but only 670 are filled, he told the supervisors.

Retirements, diversions to the private sector and competition from other law enforcement agencies have made it difficult to fill the positions, Brooks said. Currently, deputies in his department take on recruiting efforts on a part-time basis.

A professional recruiter would make the process more efficient, he told supervisors. Hiring a recruiter, and developing a plan to fill more slots, would cost an estimated $422,000, he said.

Other priorities are reinstatement of the gang unit, at a cost of just over $1 million; additional jail staffing at $637,000; and two forensic scientists for the crime lab at $368,000.

Brooks told supervisors that he didn’t expect them to approve all of his requests, but wanted to let them know what he feels is needed to maintain “the level of safety the public expects.”