Orange County sheriff braces for major budget cuts in new year

KPCC-FM89.3 (Southern California Public Radio, Los Angeles)

January 4, 2010

Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens is hoping for a prosperous new year, but she's not banking on one. She expects to make major budget cuts in the coming year.

The Sheriff's Department blames its budget squeeze on declining sales tax revenues. The department gets the bulk of its money from sales taxes. So when consumers stop buying, law enforcement in Orange County gets hurt.

Hutchens says she's cut $24 million from her budget already this fiscal year by eliminating vacant positions, consolidating jails, reducing overtime and cutting her command staff nearly in half. She says she has another $25 million to cut by the end of June.

"And we're looking at $65 million more for next year," Hutchens say. "And we just cannot make those cuts without serious impacts on public safety."

Hutchens says the amount she must cut amounts to several hundred positions in the department.

"We're at that point where anything else we cut is going to get into the bone of what we provide for public safety," Hutchens says. "And it's going to come down to, 'What public safety services do we no longer provide?' You know, so you get back to the very, very basics of what you do. And that's staff the jails, provide patrol – and even our investigations might get cut."

Hutchens says she can't cut service to cities that use deputies as their police force.

"It's pretty difficult if you look at 30 percent of our budget are contracts," she says. "So you're only talking about 70 percent that we could cut from because on the contracts, they get what they pay for. So it's unprecedented. I've had to cut more than any prior sheriff in this county has had to cut in terms of budget."

Hutchens says she's had to cut even more than than the sheriff cut during Orange County's bankruptcy 15 years ago.

Hutchens hopes to drum up some money by renting out jail space to federal immigration officials. She plans to meet with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Washington, D.C. in mid-January.