Of the 58 counties in California, San Benito is one of only four
that still employs a county marshal. But anyone who thinks this
might be a good place to trim some fat from our county government
really ought to think again.
Of the 58 counties in California, San Benito is one of only four that still employs a county marshal. But anyone who thinks this might be a good place to trim some fat from our county government really ought to think again.
Since the mid-1990s, more than 30 California counties have eliminated the position, often in the interest of efficiency or cutting costs. But San Benito County gets more than its money’s worth from Marshal Robert Scattini, who has held the elected job for nearly two decades.
Scattini heads up an office that operates on a budget of less than $100,000 a year (including his own salary of $19,000) and handles virtually all of the county’s civil law enforcement matters, from serving court orders and witness summonses to processing evictions. He even makes occasional traffic stops while driving his black-and-white cruiser.
The county Board of Supervisors has in the past considered eliminating the marshal’s job. It’s always tempting to go along with the majority.
With so many other California counties electing either to reassign the work to the court or the sheriff’s office, it was probably wise to at least look at the numbers.
What the supervisors found when they did look was that the county gets a lot of bang for its buck from the marshal.
“Scattini does such a good good job that I just don’t see a reason to consider abolishing the position,” Supervisor Anthony Botelho recently told the Free Lance.
As Rich Inman, director of internal services for San Benito County, said, “It wouldn’t make sense to eliminate the position. He does a lot of processing and serving that we couldn’t get done elsewhere for the same amount of money.”
With Scattini, a veteran of 45 years in law enforcement, in the marshal’s saddle that’s true.
But things could change. Scattini, 66, has said he is committed to serving the rest of his elected term, which ends in 2009, but he could decide to retire then rather than run for another term that would take him into his 70s.
When he does leave office, the Board of Supervisors should take another look at the future of the marshal’s office. It’s hard to imagine someone as qualified as Scattini who would be willing to do the job for $19,000 a year.
Until then, the taxpayers of San Benito County are being well-served by their marshal.
