April 2, 2002
M E M O R A N D U M
TO: Office of Budget and Debt Management
FROM: Shauna Scott
SUBJECT: Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2002-2003: Sheriff’s Department
The time of year for budget change proposals (BCP) has once again arrived. Staff here at the Sheriff’s Department would like to suggest a set of budget changes for the 2002-2003 fiscal year. These changes are based on the department’s desire to increase public safety, as well as the safety of our officers. While this budget change request asks for an increased budget for next year, Sheriff Blanas and we, his staff, feel that the requests are reasonable, appropriate and necessary. This BCP will outline our current budget and how it is allocated, as well as our desired additional budget increases and our rationale for such increases. Further, we will describe some possible alternatives to our budget request.
Currently (2001-2001), the Sheriff’s Department budget totals $6,025,238 with Sacramento County’s net cost totaling just $1,219,719 of that amount. Most of the budget is allocated to the salaries and benefits of officers and staff (71.6%). The next highest allocation is for services and supplies, receiving 26% of the budget. Fixed assets (1.1%) and other charges (1.3%) make up the smallest amount of our current budget.
· This BCP asks for an additional 39 law enforcement positions to provide public safety and service for the unicorporated Rancho Cordova area. There has been an increase of complaints and service calls directing officers to this area over the last several months. Specifically, the number of area calls for service has gone up from 70 a week in 2001, to 204 a week in 2002. Clearly, more officers are needed to provide adequate public service and safety for this sector.
· In addition, the Sheriff’s Department would like an increase of $100,000 to enhance, modify, and fix bugs in our new Computer Aided Dispatch System (CAD). In July of 2001, we received the updated CAD system. However, unanticipated issues have arisen and more technical work and money are needed in order for the system to assist officers properly and as expected.
Alternatives
Alternatives to our requests for new law enforcement positions for the Rancho Cordova area and further technical support for CAD are as follows:
· Reduce the number of new law enforcement positions to 12. While this reduction in man-power (from 39 new positions) would not provide the level of public safety Sheriff Blanas prefers, it would be sufficient for the near future and would alleviate officer case-loads in the Rancho Cordova area by 30% from currently levels.
· Reduce the budget allocation pertaining to the number of hours of over-time each officer may serve each month from 40 to 15 and use this money for the CAD system upgrades. Since this money is for extra manpower and we hope to have additional positions next year, the deduction in hours should not hinder public safety and service.