Kern County is facing a massive budget deficit, and county departments are going to be feeling the cuts soon.
The county has a $49 million deficit that is driving its decision-making. The preliminary recommended budget, which was released this week, is recommending a 5% reduction of the general fund. This means 5% cuts coming to all departments.
You can see the full preliminary budget here.
And you can see the summary here.
Of those most heavily effected are the Sheriff's Department and the District Attorney's office. Both are vital to public safety in Kern County, and both are facing formidable recommendations.
The budget is recommending that KCSO cut 26 positions, made up of 10 deputies and 16 trainees.
"It couldn't come at a worse time," said Sheriff Donny Youngblood. "If you look at our homicide rate this year compared to last year, it's um...we're double and we're not even halfway through the year."
Youngblood said that the budget is recommending cuts that could ultimately result in substation closures and a dialing back of flight and gang units.
During the entire interview, Youngblood seemed to have the toughest time when talking about potential layoffs of trainees.
"When you hire someone and put them into an academy, six months of boot camp, and then have to look them in the fact and say 'sorry,' that's pretty tough."
The District Attorney's Office is also looking at tough cuts, with the budget recommending the layoff of 11 attorneys.
"The D.A.'s Office is the last line of defense for public safety," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Mark Pafford.
"The Sheriff's Department, the Bakersfield Police Department, they can arrest everybody they want. But if we're not in the courtrooms able to prosecute people, those arrests will be meaningless."
