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Money wasted or well spent

Dale Drozen

(Updated: Thursday, March 04, 2010, 12:00 AM)

I have been following the Fresno County issue of the law suit filed by the sheriff against the board of supervisors. Being of the opinion that most money spent by a county department in a law suit against the board is a horrendous waste of tax money, legal action should be a last resort and only then justified in a very few cases.

In this case I believe the action was justified. The sheriff is elected in a county wide election to "Protect and Serve" the citizens of the entire county. To have the authority and judgment of the sheriff questioned by the board undermines the authority of the duly elected sheriff.

We in Madera County have seen the results of the board having control over our essential services. All five board members voted to cut the fire and sheriff budgets, then the two supervisors -- who's districts were most effected by the cuts -- simply protested how they were implemented. The end result being the loss of several deputy positions and the elimination of all paid fire staffing in the Ahwahnee and Raymond areas.

In the case of the fire cuts, the board limited reductions to a geographic area not only putting the lives of citizens at risk but also increasing the risk of injury or death of the brave volunteers who provide what protection they can to their neighbors.

In the case of the lost deputies, the sheriff was able to lessen the impact by making cuts in areas based on need, ability to provide essential services and the safety of the remaining deputies.

The Madera County Board of Supervisors choose to take the same path as Fresno, undermining the authority of our sheriff. Before hundreds of thousand can be wasted on law suits we as voters need to make our support of the independent authority of our elected sheriff clear. The board needs to understand some things are just off limits.