County and city leaders expect a consultant to finish the study
on possible law enforcement consolidation by the end of September,
and officials at a board of supervisors meeting this week blamed a
delay on the sheriff’s office prior to the 2010 election.
County and city leaders expect a consultant to finish the study on possible law enforcement consolidation by the end of September, and officials at a board of supervisors meeting this week blamed a delay on inaction in the sheriff’s office prior to the November 2010 election.
Supervisors heard a report on the consolidation study during their meeting Tuesday. That’s when County Administrative Officer Rich Inman told them a consultant hired a year ago has been held up on the analysis for months because the sheriff’s office in 2010 neglected to hand over needed information and nobody else pushed the issue.
The process started in June 2010, when the intergovernmental committee comprised of elected leaders in area municipalities invited a consultant, Municipal Resource Group, to lay out some of the general benefits and challenges of combining the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office and Hollister Police Department.
The board of supervisors and city council followed by approving of a study. And while the city promptly submitted the necessary documentation, Inman said the county sheriff’s office didn’t do so until recently.
“It was a function of the election,” Inman told the board, referring to Darren Thompson’s succession of former Sheriff Curtis Hill.
Inman also noted in the meeting how Hill was not often in the office during his final months on the job before retiring. Meanwhile, his undersheriff at the time, former Lt. Pat Turturici, spent a lot of time in 2010 campaigning for the sheriff role.
The delay came up in a recent intergovernmental meeting, where city officials noted how the consultant was waiting for the county’s documentation to move forward. Officials at Tuesday’s meeting estimated the late September completion for the study.
Look for more in Tuesday’s edition of the Free Lance.
