County spokesperson Kim Nava said the budget process is still in its early stages and no final decisions have been made.

SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper says a proposed budget reduction could force his office to pull more than 50 deputies off the streets, warning that response times and specialized units would take a hit.

The concern comes as Sacramento County grapples with a budget deficit and asks more than 30 agencies — including the Sheriff’s Office — to review potential cuts.

Cooper said he met with county officials about a week ago, when the Office of the County Executive asked departments to provide feedback on what a 2.5% reduction would mean for their operations. He said that would translate to a $14 million cut for his department.

“That’s very disconcerning and the reason being in the sheriff’s office, the jails are mandated. I’ve mandated staff. I can’t cut from the jails. Same things with courts. And besides jails and courts, my biggest other numbers come from patrol and detectives,” Cooper said. 

He said removing that amount of funding would mean taking more than 50 deputies off the streets. If forced to make reductions, Cooper said his office would have to eliminate its Homeless Outreach Team, Problem-Oriented Policing teams — also known as POP — as well as its full-time gang unit and river reinforcement team.

“We’ve done all these good things the last four years since I became sheriff. I don’t want to slide back, and that’s my concern. That we lose the ground we’ve gained,” Cooper said. 

County spokesperson Kim Nava said the budget process is still in its early stages and no final decisions have been made.

“I can’t verify the sheriff’s claim because the budgets haven’t been submitted yet. They’re due in March. So I know that he has projected some numbers. So we’re waiting for that data to come in and be able to look at that, do a deep dive into it,” Nava said. 

Nava said departments have been asked to review reductions in a way that minimizes impacts to services and field positions.

“We have asked departments to look at things in a way where we’re saying that minimal impact to services and minimal impact to field positions, right. So, the Sheriff’s Office will let us know what reductions they could live with. What they can’t live with,” she said. 

Cooper questioned the county’s position that no specific number has been set.

“It’s kind of ironic, they don’t have a specific number, yet they put the number out in the public at the board hearing and told agencies, departments, and the county to prepare for that budget cut. So I’m not really sure where the disconnect is,” Cooper said. 

The county expects departments, including the Sheriff’s Office, to submit their budget proposals in early March. The Office of the County Executive will analyze those submissions and meet with department heads to discuss potential impacts.

Nava said the county executive’s recommendations will be released May 29, with the Board of Supervisors scheduled to take them up in a public meeting in June. She said the public is encouraged to participate in that process.

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