Blog 3: Story 2

Josiah Daniels

Feb. 10, 2010

Police Car Meeting

Heated Debate in Commissioner Meeting Regarding Police Funds

     Sheriff Gus DiCesari was denied his petition for eight new police cars and five new deputies in a heated debate at the County Commissioners meeting on Thursday afternoon.

     DiCesari stated that he needed the new cars to replace old ones that each had over 150,000 miles on them. “My deputies can’t keep driving these old vehicles. Something bad is going to happen,” stated DiCesari.

     However, the Commissioners voted against granting DiCesari the money. They stated that the county doesn’t have the funds. The county’s budget this year was $127 million, and Commission Member Anne Chenn said that the county ran short of money this year. The sheriff’s department would require $580,000 for the cars and deputies.

     Chenn suggested that deputies stop driving their squad cars home to preserve mileage. DiCesari countered by saying the cars were a deterrent to crime.

     DiCesari was upset by the decision. He voiced his opinion at the meeting when he stated, “You’re putting the lives of the people of this county in jeopardy.” According to DiCesari, “This is the first time in my 27 years as sheriff that the county hasn’t allocated money to the sheriff’s department to buy equipment.”

     Not every commissioner voted against DiCesari’s request. Two of the commissioners were in favor of it. Those two were commissioners Anita Shenuski and Raymond Laybourne. They both argued that the county should devote more money to the police department and less to programs for migrant workers.

     Commissioners Chen, Valerie Dawkins, Faith Ellis, Jose Gardez, and Roland Grauman voted against DiCesari’s request. They countered Shenuski and Laybourne’s argument by saying that the migrant workers are valuable to the community and economy.