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6 <br /> 1 Sheriff Blackwood said that was right. He said there are issues that have not been <br /> 2 talked about, and his office does not have enough personnel, storage space, etc. He said he <br /> 3 cannot stop the BOCC, and he has to work with the budget he is given. <br /> 4 Commissioner McKee said it would affect jail staff, law enforcement officers, and <br /> 5 diversion programs that the Board has put in place. <br /> 6 Sheriff Blackwood said they have to take into account fuel, overtime, responding to calls, <br /> 7 etc. He said it will hurt his office. <br /> 8 Commissioner McKee said there is a nationwide effort to cut back on law enforcement, <br /> 9 and it is not paying dividends. He said he does not support the amendment. <br /> 10 Commissioner Dorosin said the Sheriff makes a compelling case for his office. He said it <br /> 11 is not a department, but it is funded like every other department in the County. He said this <br /> 12 amendment is not a punishment, and almost every department is making this cut, on <br /> 13 operations, not on personnel. He said it is not accurate to lump the Sheriff's Office in with <br /> 14 Health, Social Services, Aging, etc. and to characterize this as a punishment is not accurate. <br /> 15 He said every other department making these cuts is not being punished, but rather it is <br /> 16 recognition of the critical position the County is in. He said, in the interest of fairness, the other <br /> 17 departments that have been exempted are different. He said this is a measure that needs to be <br /> 18 taken at this time, and it is reasonable to do so. He said any department head would make a <br /> 19 similarly impassioned argument, but nonetheless, these are critical times. He said the BOCC <br /> 20 needs to look closely at all spending, including this office. <br /> 21 Chair Price said she sees Public Safety as an essential service. She said she would like <br /> 22 to pull away from thinking just about the policing aspect, as some neighborhoods are over- <br /> 23 policed, but the Sheriff's Office works with Housing, social services, etc. in crisis intervention. <br /> 24 She said when there is an eviction, domestic violence, or other such crises, the Sheriff's officers <br /> 25 are there. She asked if the office just brought on two new people to work with mental health. <br /> 26 Sheriff Blackwood said he has a Mental Health task force, which has some additional <br /> 27 needs. He said questions remain on how this will be funded. <br /> 28 Sheriff Blackwood said his office is a part of public safety, as set out by the budget <br /> 29 guidelines of the County Manager. <br /> 30 Chair Price said there are a lot of things the Sheriff's Office does that would be <br /> 31 jeopardized by a cut, and this office is among the first responders. <br /> 32 Commissioner McKee disagreed that the Sheriff's office is different than public safety. <br /> 33 He said the Sheriff's office is put in special situations, including rescue, emergency services, <br /> 34 health, welfare, etc. He said the County has made strides through the Sheriff's department to <br /> 35 look at alternative ways to serve the community, and he cannot support the amendment. <br /> 36 <br /> 37 A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin to approve the amendment to reduce the <br /> 38 Sheriff's budget by 5% for the FY 2021-22 fiscal year. <br /> 39 <br /> 40 Motion failed for lack of a second. <br /> 41 <br /> 42 Chair Price read the amendment to eliminate funding for the Piedmont Wildlife Center <br /> 43 afterschool program. <br /> 44 <br /> 45 A motion was made by Commissioner Bedford to approve eliminate funding to Piedmont <br /> 46 Wildlife Center for the after school program. <br /> 47 <br /> 48 Motion failed for lack of a second. <br /> 49 Slide #5 <br />