Popular deputy serves ranchers and farmers
Gilroy – South County’s rural deputy is on the county chopping block yet again, to the chagrin of farmers, ranchers and local leaders.
“If we lose this position,” said Lt. Dale Unger, “we’ll have a lot of angry ranchers.”
The rural crimes job is one of four Sheriff’s deputies listed for elimination on the Sheriff’s proposed 2007/2008 budget in an effort to cull $3.1 million from the office’s coffers, a fraction of the county’s estimated $238 million deficit.
In South County, the rural crimes beat is popular, credited with reducing trailer thefts and other backcountry crime. Deputy Gabe Sandoval took the job in November, replacing Doug Vander Esch, a farmer’s son who restored trust in the Sheriff’s office after a battery of equipment thefts. Ranchers call Sandoval “helpful” and “important.”
“Since he started he’s been really visible,” said Paul Mirassou, supervisor at B&T Farms. “He’s been watching out for us.”
But in the Sheriff’s office, the job is a frequent target for cuts. Sheriff Laurie Smith proposed cutting the job in 2003, 2004 and 2005, and has now red-tagged the position again, in a proposed budget sent to the county’s Public Safety and Justice Committee. Slashing the job would save the office $114,256 annually.
“It seems inevitable” that the position is slated for elimination, said Jenny Derry, executive director of the county Farm Bureau and a strong supporter of the rural crimes job. “It’s a specialty position, and usually when the budget gets cut, specialty positions are the first to get cut.”
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Edward Wise said the proposed budget is only one of seven proposals from the Sheriff, three of which spare the South County job. But the alternate proposals were apparently not available on the county’s Web site, and Wise said he could not furnish them by press time.
The Sheriff’s substation has fielded a rural crimes deputy since the early 1990s, when Gage helped create the Rural Crimes Unit. Farmer Richard Fiorio still remembers Mac McDonald, the first deputy to seriously take on crop and trailer thefts, the crimes that aggravate rural ranchers and farmers.
“People used to drive out here and steal stuff because, ah, hell, who cares? … But once he started nailing people, thieves realized someone’s looking out,” Fiorio said. “It’s helped dramatically.”
The job is near and dear to Gage, who has twice fought to retain the position. Wednesday, he was confident that the deputy spot could be spared by June, when supervisors vote to adopt a final budget.
“It’s not going to be cut,” Gage said, hinting that the popular position was listed to discourage supervisors from making the cuts. “Managers make the reductions that they think will pull supervisors’ strings … I tend not to get real excited about it.”
The Public Safety and Justice Committee, which consists of supervisors Blanca Alvarado and Ken Yeager, will review the Sheriff’s proposal, then make recommendations to county executive Pete Kutras, who will draw up a proposed budget for supervisors to vote on. Alvarado cautioned that the Sheriff’s proposal isn’t the last word on the office’s budget, which won’t be finalized until June.
Cuts are nothing new to the Sheriff’s office: Since 2004, the county has reduced its budget by roughly $13.7 million, and taken 65 sworn officers off the streets.
Trimming the Sheriff’s budget is tough, since many of its functions are mandated, such as contracts with cities and courthouses. The department has less than $400,000 dedicated to non-mandated functions, including its Reserves program, Crime Analysis and Canine Unit expenses to keep dogs fed, vaccinated and trained, said Wise.
“We’re down past the bone,” Unger said. “It’s getting frustrating – for us, and for the public.”
As he patrols rural fields, Sandoval is trying not to worry. He has enough to preoccupy him: illegal cockfights, pilfered pallets, and a spike in metal thefts, prompted by metals’ rising prices. In the lull between harvests, he’s meeting with farmers to learn what they’re farming, and where, so that if he nabs a thief with an armful of bell peppers, he’ll know who to ask.
“I hate to even think about it,” Sandoval said. “I’m just starting to get a feel for it, and the farmers need someone out here.”
