SSD layoffs (revised)

Posted June 29, 2009 by Lisa Taylor

Sacramento Sheriff's Department mistake could cost 80 more jobs

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department says it will need to lay off almost 80 more deputies than it had anticipated – significantly reducing the department's ability to patrol unincorporated county streets – because of a miscalculation.

Sheriff John McGinness said Friday that he'll need to lay off 209 deputies and 22 non-sworn department employees. That's up from the 130 to 140 deputy layoffs McGinness projected when the Board of Supervisors approved a fiscal 2009-10 budget earlier this month including a $2 billion general fund spending plan.

"It is a huge hit to public safety," McGinness said. "There is nothing legal, moral or ethical I won't do to change that number."

Currently there are about 270 deputies patrolling unincorporated Sacramento County and several units such as SWAT, K-9 and air support that they can call on for help.

The cuts announced Friday would leave 171 patrol deputies and no ancillary units for backup, McGinness said. At any given time, there would be about nine or 10 two-officer patrol units on duty – five north of the river and four or five to the south. That's down from 38 units today, McGinness said.

"That is so scary. The safety of the public is being compromised," said Marianne Mueggenburg, a volunteer at the Carmichael Service Center – an office staffed by volunteers and problem-oriented policing officers, which could be closed as a result of the cuts.

McGinness announced the news to his staff in a memo Friday afternoon. He said it is the result of a miscalculation.

"I regret to inform you that information I have shared with you in the recent past has been inaccurate and represents a more promising picture than I currently believe to be valid. I sincerely apologize for the added angst such misinformation has caused," McGinness wrote.

The sheriff said he and department leaders estimated savings from layoffs using mid-range salary figures – which they normally use for budget purposes. They assumed each layoff would save about $145,000.

Because of seniority rules and the deputy union conceding to reduced salaries, however, McGinness said the actual savings are closer to $123,000 per layoff – meaning more layoffs are necessary to erase the deficit.

"The formula was flawed," McGinness said. "I'll take the heat for it."

By Robert Lewis

rlewis@sacbee.com
Published: Saturday, Jun. 27, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 1A

continued here: http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/1981440.html

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What do these budget cuts mean in reality????

From one of the comments in the article,:

To provide a little information to the public as to what the sheriff is doing because of the BOS unwillingness to make "public safety its number 1 priority"... There will be no more Sheriff's helicopter keeping you awake at night. ALL take home vehicles are being done away with for everyone below the Captain level and detectives on-call. He is vacating buildings and crowding many of his remaining employees into cramped and outdated facilities. Closing ALL neighborhood service centers... And of course there are the cuts that you know about already. The public wanted it, so the public got it! I apologize ahead of time for when you call 9-1-1 and you get an answer something along the lines of, "We don't respond to those calls anymore." The jails will be safer than the streets soon.

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Sheriff's Department paints 'pre-1970' scenario post-layoffs

What will a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department with 209 fewer deputies look like?

Sheriff John McGinness announced late last week that he'll have to cut far more deputies to balance his budget than he originally calculated. The numbers could change again, but a picture of their impact is taking shape.

Patrol staffing will be knocked down by 74 percent – leaving just 10 cars patrolling the entire unincorporated county at any given time. Detective staffing will be halved. Helicopters will be grounded, the Problem-Oriented Policing program will be disbanded and dispatchers will be in triage mode as they assign precious few resources to calls for service.

The department will look "pre-1970," said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran.

"While the population of the county has grown exponentially and so has crime, we'll have the same number of deputies patrolling the streets of Sacramento County as we did in 1970," Curran said. "The impact will be devastating to the taxpaying citizens of Sacramento."

On Friday, McGinness said his department will have to lay off 80 more deputies than initially anticipated – for a total of 209 – to cut $57 million. In addition, 22 non-sworn employees will be laid off.

"There's nothing good about it," he said, "unless you're a criminal."

Because the Sheriff's Department is legally mandated to staff the Superior Court system and the county's adult correctional facilities, McGinness said, the bleeding must come from patrol and investigative divisions.

Already, the changes are ringing alarms in the community.

"That has got to be a joke," said Trish Harrington, a community activist and small-business owner in Del Paso Manor.

"I think the criminals are waiting and they're just going to cut loose," she said. "I despise guns, I really do. I hate guns, I stay away from them, but I swear to God, I'm ready to buy one."

Residents of the city of Sacramento should take note as well. Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel said he expects the sheriff's cuts to drain his resources in several ways.

For example, his air operations unit will have to adjust its helicopter flight schedule – without increasing costs – once the sheriff's helicopters are grounded. Currently, the two agencies alternate flying time and cover both jurisdictions when in the air.

Braziel said police officers will cross the county line on occasion if deputies are on a critical call and in need of cover – a likely scenario with the sheriff's proposed patrol staffing.

Also crossing county lines will be criminals, Braziel said. With sheriff's resources stretched so thin, offenders are less likely to be caught, and more likely to be causing problems inside the city as well.

"Criminals don't know any geographic boundaries," he said.

continued here:

http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/1987997.html