View from the local level...
Front page of my local Ventura County paper announces that the big budget battle between the Board of Supervisors and the D.A/Sheriff's Department, and the Court's ruling on the Constitutionality of Ordinance 4088 will be sent to the State appellate court for review.
Here's my take on this. Board of Supervisors ultimately wanted to revise Ord. 4088 due to budget contraints on all county services. DA/Sheriff's Department wanted their budgets undisturbed, meaning they would get a 10% increase for "cost of living payroll", as they have done since 1995. Now, these budget increases add up over time, and according to my math, have increased 80% since 1995! Of course noteworthy is the fact that our Sheriff's Department has no vehicles over 2 years old. Moreover, the equipment owned by the SD, includes a state-of-the-art mobile crime lab that looks as though it should belong to the FBI Dangerous Crimes Unit (if there is such a thing.) As for patrols, I live approximately 4 miles from work. Any given day, both to and from work, I pass no fewer than three patrol cars. As for enforcement activity, most offenses are not necessarily dangerous to the public at large. The weekly "Police Blotter" in the Ojai newspaper, indicates arrests made in a given week. Most arrests are for
public intoxication, and of course that favorite source of County revenue, DUIs. But I have seen law enforcement also stop children riding without helmets, or heaven-forbit, riding against traffic on the side of the road. We don't have too many major crime events in this area, but when it happens, you can be assured that our boys in blue will respond, rolling crime lab and all.
In the meantime, several social services and agencies are closing down, so that our law enforcement can ride in nice new cars, patrolling rural areas as though they were in South Central L.A. So, the million dollars of tax payer money spent by DA/Sheriff's Department to challenge the Board's decision to modify the budget increase, in the name of public safety, in my mind in indefensible and unjustified.
Here's my take on this. Board of Supervisors ultimately wanted to revise Ord. 4088 due to budget contraints on all county services. DA/Sheriff's Department wanted their budgets undisturbed, meaning they would get a 10% increase for "cost of living payroll", as they have done since 1995. Now, these budget increases add up over time, and according to my math, have increased 80% since 1995! Of course noteworthy is the fact that our Sheriff's Department has no vehicles over 2 years old. Moreover, the equipment owned by the SD, includes a state-of-the-art mobile crime lab that looks as though it should belong to the FBI Dangerous Crimes Unit (if there is such a thing.) As for patrols, I live approximately 4 miles from work. Any given day, both to and from work, I pass no fewer than three patrol cars. As for enforcement activity, most offenses are not necessarily dangerous to the public at large. The weekly "Police Blotter" in the Ojai newspaper, indicates arrests made in a given week. Most arrests are for
public intoxication, and of course that favorite source of County revenue, DUIs. But I have seen law enforcement also stop children riding without helmets, or heaven-forbit, riding against traffic on the side of the road. We don't have too many major crime events in this area, but when it happens, you can be assured that our boys in blue will respond, rolling crime lab and all.
In the meantime, several social services and agencies are closing down, so that our law enforcement can ride in nice new cars, patrolling rural areas as though they were in South Central L.A. So, the million dollars of tax payer money spent by DA/Sheriff's Department to challenge the Board's decision to modify the budget increase, in the name of public safety, in my mind in indefensible and unjustified.
posted by BLONDIE at 11:46 AM
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