{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"KZYX News","title":"Legal filings in fight between Sheriff and County proliferate","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":389,"description":"September 6, 2021 — The promised battle between the sheriff and the Board of Supervisors has entered the phase of inconclusive meetings and lengthy court filings.\r\nIn July, Sheriff Matt Kendall asked the board to authorize $50,000 to hire local attorney Duncan James so he could fight a policy that would make department heads responsible for exceeding their budgets. He’s also stated that the county is trying to take over his IT department, which he believes is an infringement on his rights and duties as sheriff.\r\nKendall and County Counsel Christian Curtis agreed that it would be a conflict of interest for Curtis to represent Kendall, since Kendall is disputing the county, which Curtis represents. But the question of the exact nature of the conflict remains. \r\nKendall argues that his department, which regularly exceeds its budget, is structurally underfunded, particularly when it comes to overtime. He stated in a court filing at the end of July that his office is underfunded this year in excess of $2 million, and that he’s worried his ability to solve crimes is hindered by “the county threatening to sue me personally to recover any budget overage.” (Earlier in the filing, he stated that the CEO’s budget recommendation to the Board of Supervisors included a reduction of approximately $1.5 million dollars.) \r\nIn a court filing last week, Curtis reported that at the close of budget hearings in June, the board adopted a budget that “gave the sheriff everything he had asked for other than $1,275,500 for vehicles and equipment and the $255,000 for salary and benefits.” On August 3, the board funded the request for vehicles and equipment with money from the PG&E settlement, leaving only a quarter million dollar shortage in salary and benefits, not an excess of two million dollars. \r\nKendall was hostile to a recent proposal for an independent financial audit of his office, leading Supervisor Ted Williams to point out that the board has not seen data to back up his claims...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/xZpAumwbhFUpJUYcwaQ1-q6snzOyqAm13l7cW6AWPCM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMzkz/NjAwNjc2OWMyZmFk/YWY2YTdmYjI5M2Mz/YWMxNy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}