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KCSO faces $1.2 million dollar budget cuts

Posted at 11:35 PM, Feb 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-04 02:35:21-05

Significant money is being taken away from the sheriff's department.

The cuts come after the Board of Supervisors ordered all general fund departments to cut one percent from their budgets. 

These cuts stem from low price of oil forcing the county supervisors to make cuts in all departments, including the sheriff's office. Substations in Buttonwillow and Boron will close, along with the Ridgecrest jail.

Most staff members in those areas will move to existing vacancies in the department. A unit that works major narcotics cases is also shutting down.

Although the department received $1.5 million dollars back from county supervisors for the 18-day manhunt this past summer, Sheriff Youngblood says big cases like the bomb call out in Johannesburg and the manhunt did have an impact.

Until the budget is back to normal, officers will respond in beats, covering several different communities which could impact response times. These cuts go into effect on February 20th.