Pinal County supervisors reject plan to add more county deputies
The Pinal County Deputies Association says the County Board of Supervisors made a mistake when it voted earlier this month to reject Sheriff Babeu's plan to add 30 new deputies through the federal government's COPS Grant.
President Jeff Pizzi said the Association supported the Sheriff in his efforts to obtain the grant, which would have funded the 30 positions for three years. Pizzi said he was disappointed that the Board of Supervisors said no to the proposal at a time when crime in Pinal County is on the rise.
"This grant would have been used to supplement the shortage of manpower and develop specialty positions within the department," Pizzi said. "Even worse, the County Manager has directed the Sheriff to cut his budget an additional 8 percent, which will limit the department's ability to adequately protect the public."
"Public safety must be at the top of our collective priorities," said Sheriff Babeu. "We need more patrol deputies to serve our increasing population and to properly address the significant rise in crime during this economic downturn."
"Pinal County is growing and we see it in the steady increase in calls for service to the Sheriff's Office as well as increased response times to calls. Last year, the average respose time was over 18 minutes to Priority 1 calls," Pizzi said. "The Board boasts that we are the fastest growing county in Arizona, but where is the growth in infrastructure and services for our citizens?"
Two supervisors on the Board acknowledged that the department is understaffed and more deputies may be needed in three years. But, they did not want to commit the funding for the positions after the three-year grant was concluded, Pizzi said.
The Sheriff had planned to request $7.3 million to fund the 30 positions for three years. In year four, the projected cost to the County was $2.2 million.
