MaryAnn McKissick: End discretionary funds, hire deputies instead
The recent anti-police sentiment and wave of law-enforcement killings is horrendous. I’m extremely concerned with the safety of local deputies, as often only one officer is assigned to patrol most rural county areas.
Rural miscreants are becoming shamelessly emboldened. They skulk about in drug gangs, thinking little of openly challenging sheriff’s deputies. Reportedly, thugs have confronted officers with knives and guns.
I’m told it often takes 7 to 10 minutes to arrive at a call after a lone deputy requests backup. This staffing debacle is a powder keg ready to explode, perhaps costing us one of our finest.
Our county supervisors lament that insufficient tax money prevents hiring deputies.
Yet supervisors continue to hole up thousands of our tax dollars in discretionary accounts yearly, refusing to return it to the budget process when not used but rolling it over for the next year.
Discretionary funds should end! Use that money to hire vitally needed deputies. Voters should help protect deputies as they protect us.
If you cannot make it to the board’s meetings, write, call, fax or text your supervisor. Ask for an end to the outdated tradition of discretionary funds for supervisors. Ask that the money be used to end the dangerous deputy shortage.
MaryAnn McKissick, Merced
This story was originally published September 2, 2015 at 11:15 AM with the headline "MaryAnn McKissick: End discretionary funds, hire deputies instead."