The LA County Board of Supervisors passed a motion Tuesday to freeze funding and hiring processes for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) due to budget deficits, officials said.
The motion could require Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva to agree to a spending “mitigation plan” aiming to reduce a $63 million budget deficit, a fiscal matter largely blamed on deputy overtime, according to the agenda.
The effort, proposed by Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Hilda Solis, requires the department to consent to a hiring freeze for nonessential personnel, as well as a “payment plan” to reimburse the county for excess spending. The supervisors are also requesting that the sheriff agree to establish controls to prevent future deficits, according to County officials.
The LASD budget is approximately $3.5 billion, but supervisors were concerned by the fact that the budget would close with a net deficit of approximately $63.4 million in the fiscal year 2018-19, according to the agenda.
The “payment plan” suggested in the motion would require that the LASD repays the funds borrowed from the county’s general fund in the form of yearly installments of $15.9 million over four years, County officials said.
The proposal, which had been rumored for weeks, also calls on Villanueva to cut costs without reducing the numbers of uniformed deputies assigned to public safety in the county’s unincorporated areas — and in the dozens of cities that pay for the department’s patrols.
“The Sheriff’s Department has a constitutional responsibility to provide public safety,” the motion states. “However, that responsibility must be discharged under the same budgetary guidelines that apply to its sister county departments, many of whom are also mandated by law to provide various critical services.”
When first faced with the possibility of the budget freeze, Villanueva reacted in a statement released Sunday, September 27.
“It is unconscionable for the board to play politics with public safety, particularly when they are sitting on a budget surplus of more than $2 billion,” said Villanueva. “I look forward to working collaboratively with the board to responsibly resolve these issues in the interest of the community’s safety.”
Please refer to my statement below regarding the Board of Supervisors’ vote to freeze a portion of the Sheriff’s Department’s budget. pic.twitter.com/x0KJu7zqyc
— Alex Villanueva (@LACoSheriff) October 2, 2019
Villanueva credited the overtime expenditures as due to “critical first responder vacancies” which grew to over 900 positions department-wide, and the resulting overtime needed in order to make up for the lack of personnel.
“We are well on our way to addressing this critical shortage,” said Villanueva. “Any movement by the board to freeze our hiring will exacerbate the overtime costs and harm public safety immediately.”
In addition to freezing funding and preventing hiring, the supervisors’ proposal would essentially freeze money already allocated to the department until it agrees to a plan to control its spending. The plan would transfer $143 million designed for supplies and capital expenses for equipment into a separate account outside of LASD control, according to the motion.
The freeze on hiring is a major focus of the debate between the LASD and the Board of Supervisors, as LASD is “currently the most understaffed law enforcement agency in the United States,” according to Villanueva.
The LASD currently has 816 sworn deputy vacancies and a per capita deputy-to-resident ratio of 0.9 deputies for every 1,000 residents – two and a half times less than the national average of 2.5, according to Villanueva.
He went on to state that his tenure inherited a $47 million deficit upon entering office, which leaves the department “severely underfunded” when coupled with structural deficits in trial court funding, sworn vacancies, retiree healthcare and unfunded mandates, according to Sheriff’s officials.
“Our operations are an open book,” said Villanueva. “If anyone can identify what can be improved upon, we are open to constructive criticism and a collaborative effort in delivering public safety services effectively and cost-consciously.”
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I’ve suggested this before, and now more than ever it’s time for the City of Santa Clarita to bring it’s police services under full city control – and not contracted to a third party agency.
Now is the time! Move forward and improve upon the already outstanding city services in place!
As the third largest city – by population in Los Angeles County, the City of Santa Clarita certainly has the “buying power” needed to effectively manage it’s own police department – especially from a cost and budgeting perspective.
SO_CAL_RETAIL_SLUT
With open borders, let us arm the people and eliminate law enforcement. Why do we the people have to obey law and order when the minority protects the badies?