Contra Costa County will spend $1.75 million in federal coronavirus relief on 24 new deputy sheriff positions, despite dozens of county residents imploring the Board of Supervisors not to use that funding for law enforcement.
The 24 deputies, including one lieutenant, will be tasked primarily with supporting the mental health of inmates at a remodeled Martinez Detention Facility.
Sheriff David Livingston told supervisors on Aug. 4 that the deputies will provide “enhanced supervision” of inmates with mental health issues, allowing them more time out of their cells, more time for visits, more mental health programming, more timely medical appointments and intake that is more confidential and private.
In addition to approving the spending on deputies, the supervisors allocated $16.3 million from the county’s general fund to retrofitting the Martinez jail to create some larger cells.
Both allocations were part of a larger board discussion on Tuesday about Contra Costa County’s 2020-2021 budget, the bulk of which was approved last week. This week, the board heard answers to questions the supervisors
posed to various county department heads on Aug. 4.
The supervisors have heard criticism for weeks about spending federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds on new deputies (a 25th new position is being funded separately). And again on Tuesday, numerous public comments supported the concept of “defunding,” in this case shifting Sheriff’s Office funding to various social services.
“We should be using these CARES Act funds to invest in critical health services to reduce the harm being levied by the pandemic,” Katherine Walley of Walnut Creek told the supervisors, “rather than spending this money
on policing.”
Dan Geiger, coordinator of the Contra Costa Budget Justice Coalition, questioned the wisdom of using one-time CARES funds to fund permanent deputy positions.
County Administrator David Twa said the $1.75 million in CARES funds going to deputies compares to $150 million in CARES money destined for health services.
Supervisor John Gioia said he hasn’t been shown why the Martinez jail needs 24 deputies to render the mental-health-related services the Sheriff wants; for that reason, he was the dissenter in the 4-to-1 vote to
approve that spending.
Wow.
I agree with the Sups on this one.
Good move guys.
Gioia doesn’t understand much of anything.
Didn’t Newsome say that all the coronavirus funds were already allocated and he could not commit to the $100 add-on to the executive order for additional UI payments? Being a person that has had there job taken away by the virus restrictions (Running Large gathering of people for weddings, etc…), I could use this extra funds. Sure I could go out and try to find another job now, along with everyone else, but replacing that income and benefits will be very hard. Still have a mortgage and family that need support, all taken away by the government . This has to stop! A 30 year upward movement career in the food and beverage industry has been completely stopped and i’m told to start over.
Yupe. Maybe that 100 million spent on buying hotel rooms for homeless was a bad idea
uea, because if not, it will be armed citizen militias baby
Where will the money come from for next year’s salaries? And all of the future years? This is how we get in debt. The one time money should have been spent on 1 time virus related expenses.
Only Supervisor John Gioia gets my vote next election.
By there fruits you shall know them.
?
The way our Governor spends money, $1.75 Million is a rounding error.
That said, it’s still hard to believe this even made it to a vote, after all it will benefit law abiding citizens also. California’s reputation will be changing in the coming year.
I thought the same as Who Cares, Gavin said we were all out of COVID-19 $
Well I hope each of those new cells have cable TV, USB charging stations and fast WiFi. They don’t want to deprive the criminals basic CA human rights.
It’s not new cells. It’s new deputies!
Problem is, they can’t hire enough deputies right now to keep up with losses! Why is that? Because California dems have made being a police officer no better than being a transient! Why would anyone want to be a cop nowadays!. Honest cops are afraid to display blue line items for fear of retribution. That combined with the low pay CCC pays, compared to other agencies, makes the job far less than attractive. How on earth are the going to be able to hire new deputies for this position? You get was you get Contra Costa. You asked for it, not enjoy the fruits of your labor!
@Sign from above…”In addition to approving the spending on deputies, the supervisors allocated $16.3 million from the county’s general fund to retrofitting the Martinez jail to create some larger cells.”
I am very saddened by the decline of the mental health of our Contra Costa Supervisors. Help is needed with their reasoning and out of touch with reality decision making.
Pray for us!.
Clearly what our wealthy white affluent suburbs need are more cops and bigger jail cells. During a pandemic.
Ahhhh can you feel the American Exceptionalism?
They obviously want to have bigger cells for themselves when they get arrested. Far as American exceptionalism, liberal progressive democrats hate this country. In these areas you will find all kinds of stupid taking place to give the impression that America is not exceptional. Some people however are on the job and were voted in for the specific purpose of Making America Great Again. Don’t ever forget who was president around here for 8 years before Trump.
Last I heard is that Martinez is a blue collar town, not a wealthy white affluent suburb as you have portrayed it. It ain’t Alamo.
Do you not want to help mental patients?
The way criminals protestors are allowed to continue to destroy and pillage this is very much needed. For once a needed decision.
Totally in agreement.
NO NO NO HOW CAN THIS BE? WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DEFUNDING THE POLICE! DEFUND CITY COUNCIL! DEFUND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT! LOOTING IS REPARATIONS!
(sarcasm)
Sounds like a good way to spend the money.
Defund the thought police. Defund Planned Plarenthood.
Prisoner Life’s Matter too.
The county wants these 24 additional deputies so they have more manpower to enforce their illegal orders.
Don’t believe for a second this is for anything more than enforcing illegal orders against good American citizens. These supervisors have shown they are little tyrants with no respect for their fellow citizens. They can’t be trusted and don’t think for one second these new deputies will refuse unconstitutional orders. They’ve been enforcing them this whole time because they only work for a paycheck. This is BAD.
The best part will be when these fine decision makers are re-elected.
24 Deputies? Wow.. that’s nice.
In Oakley there is a brand new Fire Department building the developer of Summer Lake provided (per agreement for such a large neighborhood to be built there) and it just sits there empty because the County can’t afford to hire a few firemen to be stationed there. F.D. response time is ridiculous.
Nearby Bethel Island has no Fire Department and response times there are beyond ridiculous.
Last year 3 houses burned down on B.I. & firemen who arrived about 15 minutes after it started didn’t know how to use the dry hydrants to tap river water to fight the fire.
It will probably require the loss of lives before anything gets done to provide decent service to the taxpayers who live there.
https://www.firehouse.com/operations-training/video/21072266/homes-burn-down-on-bethel-island-ca-with-no-fire-station-firefighters
But it’s a great comfort to know that the criminals in jail will be pampered & given so much more attention & roomy cells …. and two dozen more deputies to wait on them… nice!
Brandi – it’s the American way to fund & hire more & more trained killers like deputies than it is to have the needed number of life/property savers like firefighters. We must fund fear & intimidation (Deputies) but we can’t spend money on life/property savings & kindness (firefighters)
@ anon, Yes, it IS the county!
Did we get to vote on spending the $1.75 million on 24 new deputies & making the jail more roomy for inmates?
No…. we didn’t !
The County Board of Supervisors made the decision that the inmates were more important than the residents!
Even the Volunteer Fire Dept. on Bethel Island was shut down due to budget cuts.
A brand new, never used Fire Station sits here unoccupied while Summer Lake and Bethel Is. are forced to wait 12 – 15 minutes for help to arrive from afar?
It is lunacy…. and speaking of lunacy… @”Well Folk’s” your reasoning that Deputies are “killers” that project “fear and intimidation” is BS & I strongly disagree…. go throw a brick.
This is a good move. With all the criminals being released to the public we need more law enforcement. The repeat protests and protesters who destroy property of people of all colors simply get away with pillaging and destroying constantly with no consequences.
I am 100% in favor of this and also note that Newscum still obviously has his stash of $’s hidden away. Stop pandering to the entitlement crowd.
The federal COVID money is supposed to be used directly for the devasting results this fake pandemic has caused. Joblessness, loss of housing, mental distress, etc.
@Greg you don’t make sense. ALL races from all different cities end up in the Martinez Detention Center. It’s not a a little neighborhood jail. This (ridiculous) proposal is for the 24 sheriff’s to work AT the facility, not protect those terrible privileged white neighborhoods you obviously hate so much. And BTW nothing wrong with remodeling jails that need it. Many old jail cells are in dire need of it. Get educated…
The Sheriff and mental health? Well that’s rich. How soon we forget all those prisoner deaths under the sheriff’s department. I guess that’s one way to take of mental health. If you truly want to tackle mental health why are we asking officers with little to no training to be social workers? We’ve identified the problem but we are literally using a club to solve the problem instead of utilizing a proper tool.
The worst thing we ever did as a state was close the mental hospitals instead of reforming them.
Excellent news!!! 24 more deputies to come assist Walnut Creek PD when the next riot happens. Likely to occur when three of the four officers in Minneapolis are found not guilty or the officer in Atlanta is found not guilty.
108RS
Or if Trump somehow wins probably (with something like 5% of mail in ballots tossed).
Sacramento County Sup’s vote too, to send the money (most of it) to the Sac Sheriff………..
kudos