County, DA will continue working on compromise
Hollister
– The ongoing battle between the County Board of Supervisors and
the District Attorney showed no signs of letting up Monday after
the two parties spent all day in a judge’s chambers trying to solve
their differences, but couldn’t reach an agreement.
Hollister – The ongoing battle between the County Board of Supervisors and the District Attorney showed no signs of letting up Monday after the two parties spent all day in a judge’s chambers trying to solve their differences, but couldn’t reach an agreement.
District Attorney John Sarsfield is suing the board for implementing what he calls “illegal” budget control measures and allegedly trying to interfere with his decisions on where to focus his efforts as the county’s top prosecutor. Supervisors have said they are only trying to prevent future budget overruns in Sarsfield’s office and have no interest in controlling who the District Attorney prosecutes. After spending nearly eight hours in mediation with San Benito County Superior Court Judge Steven Sanders, no resolution could be reached, Sarsfield said. The two parties will meet again Thursday for further discussions.
Although supervisors, county officials and Sarsfield refused to comment in detail on the negotiations, both sides said progress was made.
County Administrative Officer Susan Thompson described the tone of the meeting as “very professional.”
“We’re still in mediation, but I’m hoping we can finish on Thursday,” she said.
Sarsfield’s suit challenges the board’s March 28 decision to implement budget controls such as requiring him to secure board approval before hiring outside attorneys or going over budget in any specific area. The budget controls came after the board learned that Sarsfield had overspent his services and supplies budget by $71,000 paying outside attorney Nancy Battel to prosecute three cases related to the Los Valientes. In his lawsuit, Sarsfield requests that the budget controls be declared illegal and vacated. Sarsfield also alleges that the budget controls were implemented in order to interfere with his prosecution of the Los Valientes.
Supervisors have repeatedly denied such allegations. Sarsfield has also accused Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz of being a Los Valientes.
Sarsfield is suing the anonymous group and it’s attorney for allegedly violating the civil rights of eight elected officials and business owners through extortion by filing false lawsuits.
Sarsfield’s request for an additional $350,000 to augment his budget for the remainder of the fiscal year ending in June is also part of the mediation negotiations, according Supervisor Pat Loe.
Sarsfield said Monday’s meeting was a step in the right direction.
“It was a helpful and constructive meeting,” he said.
Supervisor Don Marcus, who represented the board of supervisors along with Loe at the mediation, agreed.
“I believe we made progress,” he said. “Judge Sanders was very helpful.”
If the two parties cannot work out an agreement regarding the budget controls on Thursday, the merits of the lawsuit will be decided by Sanders on April 17, Sarsfield said.
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or
br******@fr***********.com
.
