SAN JOSE
– With Santa Clara County’s budget problems continuing to expand
– as estimates climb as high as a $120 million deficit for next
year – departments are beginning to sound worry about possible
cuts.
SAN JOSE – With Santa Clara County’s budget problems continuing to expand – as estimates climb as high as a $120 million deficit for next year – departments are beginning to sound worry about possible cuts.
“These numbers are astronomical,” said Terrance Helm, public information officer for the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department. “To me, the worst has not been spoken of yet.”
The County Sheriff’s Department is just one of the county’s departments that are looking at large budget cuts next year, and Sheriff Laurie Smith told supervisors exactly what large budget cuts could mean for public safety Tuesday.
“What that would do, according to the sheriff, is we would be operating at a minimum level,” Helm said.
The department’s cuts could go deep into community programs, meaning an end to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program, The SAFE task force and Neighborhood Watch. The Sheriff’s terrorist task force and emergency response team based in South County also would be cut, along with a cut in the number of patrol cars in unincorporated areas of South County.
The Sheriff’s Department already has begun to make cost-saving cuts, calling off an academy class that was supposed to train new officers beginning Monday.
“(Smith) had to say, ‘Sorry, we can’t hire you,'” Helm said.
John Gibbs, chief of staff for District One Supervisor Don Gage, said that the numbers are just preliminary.
“Nobody’s budget has
been cut yet,” Gibbs said. “What the Board did is ask for the depart-ments to
come
back with proposed cuts for $80 million, $100 million and $120 million deficits. Nothing is going to be done until the budget is set in June.”
However, Gibbs said that cuts could be anywhere from $100 million to $200 million. There are many different factors for the budget, including the state’s budget and the county’s reserves.
“These are going to be painful cuts for everyone,” Gibbs said.
The Sheriff’s Department budget is more than $83 million dollars, and the department’s cuts were based on $5 million to $8 million cuts. However, Gibbs said that cuts would be based on about half of the Sheriff’s budget because the cuts won’t include money coming from contract cities, which use the Sheriff’s Department as their local police agency.
Gibbs said that Gage has often stressed putting the county’s health and safety programs first, and this would carry over into budget cuts.
“Public safety was given lower targets,” Gibbs said. “The Sheriff doesn’t have as much flexibility on where to cut. These cuts will have the worst effect on unincorporated areas.”
However, Helm said the deficit may leave the Sheriff’s Department in a position where it can’t do its job the best way possible.
“This is one of the safest big counties in the state, maybe the country,” he said. “It would be ridiculous to cut into that. It there’s no communication between the community and the police, that’s when crime starts happening.”
