Citron Says Gates Playing ‘a Con Game’ Over Hiring

The county’s budget wars escalated Tuesday, with Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron accusing Sheriff Brad Gates of operating “a con game” aimed at getting 28 more employees in the waning days of the fiscal year.

Citron said in an interview that Gates asked two weeks ago for 28 more positions, to be filled in the current fiscal year ending June 30.

Yet Gates has more than 100 trained deputies who are underworked until the intake and release center opens next to the main men’s jail in downtown Santa Ana, probably later this summer, Citron said.

The treasurer said failure to have some of the deputies who are waiting for assignment to the center do the work of the 28 requested positions is a “further example of (the sheriff’s) poor management-budgeting process.”

Rare Public Assault

Although there has been private sniping at Gates in past years for the size of his budget requests, Citron’s recent attacks represent a rare public assault on one of the county’s most powerful public officials.

On May 21, Citron and county Auditor-Controller Steven E. Lewis suggested to County Administrative Officer Larry Parrish that the county could save $1.5 million a year by grounding Gates’ two helicopters.

County officials, speaking anonymously for fear of antagonizing the sheriff, have expressed admiration that Citron has spoken out. Still, they expressed doubt that the sheriff would actually lose his helicopters because the supervisors have been reluctant in the past to trim Gates’ budget requests in any major fashion.

In his latest criticism, Citron said the request for 28 more bodies late in the budget year “is a con game” because it relieves the sheriff of asking for more people in the fiscal year starting July 1, which is expected to be a particularly austere one.

The gloom about the coming budget was reflected Tuesday when county supervisors delayed for several months considering a three-year, $450,865 program to put computer terminals in the patrol cars of sheriff’s deputies.

Gates did not respond Tuesday to Citron’s remarks.

“The sheriff does not intend to get involved in a public discussion on this matter,” said Lt. Richard J. Olson, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman. “He does not intend to make any public comments on it at this time.”

But Parrish said of Gates’ request, “I would not characterize it as a confidence scheme.”

Parrish said the request for more manpower had been put off until budget hearings that start in late July. He said it was not unusual for the sheriff or other criminal justice agencies, such as the county marshal, to request more staff late in the year if they need personnel to perform jobs required by law.

The Board of Supervisors nominally adopt the upcoming fiscal year budget later this month and then formally adopt the budget in August after hearings are held.

County officials are trying to keep the new budget, which takes effect July 1, at about this year’s level of $1.49 billion.

But with costs increasing for new or expanded jails, new courtrooms and the necessary employees to staff them, plus the usual increased numbers of criminals to be prosecuted by the district attorney’s office and defended by the public defender’s office, other agencies and departments have been asked to determine the effect of possible cutbacks in their budgets.

After first asking for a study of the impact of cutbacks of 6% and 12%, Parrish told top officials last month to draw up plans envisioning 22% cutbacks.

Gates said last month that he was surprised by the request to ground the sheriff’s helicopters because “I consider Bob Citron a friend.” In a letter to Gates last week, Citron and Lewis said friendship had nothing to do with the budget.

“As the county’s chief financial watchdogs, we are questioning the county’s fairness in the entire budget process,” the two elected officials said.

The Board of Supervisors “will have to decide as to how sacred those helicopters are in comparison to major cutbacks for aid to families with dependent children, abused women and children programs, or necessary programs to aid or train people so they can become useful citizens and contribute to our society,” Citron and Lewis said.

In the interview, Citron also criticized Gates for asking for $300,000 last year to start training deputies for a proposed jail in Anaheim that will not be built for several years, if at all.

1 Less Worker Than in 1973

While the sheriff’s staff and budget has grown over the years, Citron said his treasurer-tax collector’s office has 77 full-time workers, one fewer than it had in 1973.

The treasurer said that although his office or Lewis’ could not be compared to a police agency such as the Sheriff’s Department, “you can use basic, common-sense management procedures in operating your department.”

Separately, the Board of Supervisors balked Tuesday at authorizing a three-year program to put computer terminals in Sheriff’s Department patrol cars. The terminals would replace the low-speed, teleprinter link that requires a middleman to handle questions from deputies in the field and answers from other police agencies.

Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, a former City of Orange police officer, said he had “grave concerns” about spending $184,865 now and committing the county to another $152,000 for the second year and $114,000 for the third year of establishing the system.

Because of the county’s budget problems, Vasquez asked that the request, which was formally made by the county General Services Agency, be put off until budget hearings end in August. The other four supervisors agreed.

The $450,865 would put terminals in 47 cars, 60% of the department’s patrol cars, and would build radio base stations to relay signals enabling deputies in the cars to communicate by computer directly with local, state and national law enforcement computers, a GSA report said.