Letter submitted by Ingrid Braun
Editor:
The Mono County Sheriff’s Office’s Press Release on April 28, 2016 regarding schedule changes clearly caused concerns for the Mono County Board of Supervisors, and I apologize for any misunderstanding. I understand the Board’s concerns, and I appreciate the continued dialogue between the Sheriff’s Office and our esteemed Board.
The intent of the press release was not to malign to Board of Supervisors, nor to place blame. It was meant to make the public aware that our Office is currently understaffed, and that has caused us to reduce our patrol hours. We are understaffed because we lost employees to higher paying positions and our recruitment efforts have not been successful in filling vacancies that were only recently unfrozen. The salaries we are budgeted to offer, coupled with high employee retirement contributions and the cost of living in Mono County, make it difficult to find qualified candidates.
We are continuing our recruitment efforts, and we hope to fill these positions in the near future.
When we have regained our footing with field deputies, we will return to our former schedule. I also hope that upcoming contract negotiations for our Deputy Sheriffs’ Association and our Public Safety Officers’ Association will yield more marketable salary and benefit packages.
Sincerely,
Ingrid Braun
Sheriff-Coroner
This is simple. Have the Board of Supervisors vote and approve for an independent private accounting firm to come in and Audit EVERY DEPARTMENT.
Watch the Director of each Department run for the front door. Audits are there Kryptonite!!!
That is the formula. Good Luck!
Mono Employee, not only do they NOT CARE, they blissfully feign ignorance
This is the absolute worst board for employees ever. No wonder about a dozen or so Mono employees have left for other counties this year. Mono pays to train them, then they go work for other counties.
O’brien….never said the past Sheriff was teriffic but he provided more safety to the communities by maintainIng staff. Now staffing is at an all time low, with deputies taking patrol cars to carson. People don’t become cops to become rich and from what I have heard 1776 has addressed the… Read more »
Sure hope our board members are paying attiion to what is happening with there employees. Seems like they care more about the IT department for mammoth that how there treating the rank and file employees. Spending money on a contractor for the community center in Crowley again come on board.
Restaurants that have been around forever are closing, very qualified department managers have departed. including one in the legal department who has been around the longest in the county and now works for Inyo county, CAOs are turning over at a record-breaking pace, most of the board responsible for slashing… Read more »
Someone above was asking about the county budgets and where does the money go. You can see it here:
http://www.monocounty.ca.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/auditor_-_controller/page/4952/2015-16_mid-year_budget_review_uploadable.pdf
Thanks Sean, that was an interesting read. Definitely a few surprises. Something everyone should read! I think many of us are under the impression that Health and Human Services is one of the biggest expenditures, I was surprised to see its almost all paid for by non-County revenues. Quite simply,… Read more »
Trouble….if the “adventure trail ” was O.K.’ed to the extent the ORV’ers wanted it to be,and the business owners hoping to profit off it,it would’ve been nothing but a big problem…not only to the people and homeowners living here,but to the wildlife,the land and the vehicles having to maneuver around… Read more »
Most of the places in the Antelope Valley we rode are residential neighborhoods now.
I’ll take dirt bikes over section 8 housing and gangs any day.
Bob….Remember Littlerock Dam ?… the nice quiet campgrounds,the lake loaded with trout….the 5 mile drive behind the little cafe,into the creek area….also loaded with trout ?…remember the days you could go with your family on a Sunday morning and have a picnic and a fun day ?…..without the drunken late… Read more »
There you go Lower, you point out all the negatives . But you forget to mention the fact that all these trail system trails already are open to the public to ride on. Why don’t you debat what the system really will allow riders to do?
They wanted 70 +…..what did they get…..6 ?….and those 6 are not even close to the areas to bring “millions of dollars of tourism ” into the County…it’s a flop….
Wayne it was actually the stocking of trout that put the toad and the frog on the endangered species list. DFG no longer stocks the creek or the lake. They removed the fish from the creek by electric shock and built a fish dam to stop any fish that didn’t… Read more »
Bob….google “Littlerock Dam ORV images”……then tell me (or Wayne) that they didn’t have anything to do with destroying the lake, the area,and beyond….
That’s a bunch of BS, I LIVE here and run on many trails in the area – nothing is “decimated”. I run into motorcycles and atv-ers very rarely and when I do, they are always polite. Please just stick to your low-Inyo and let the people who live and make… Read more »
Mono Person….if you read my post,you’ll see I mention it’s the SoCal ORV’ers that do(or would have done) the majority of the damage…it seems most local ORV’ers,they might be just as annoying as the SoCal ORV’ers,but it seems they don’t do quite as much damage…but those that were pushing for… Read more »
Public lands belong to the public – that means all of us – not just those who happen to live nearby. Every citizen has the right to voice their opinions on the use of public land. And you are not entitled to make decisions for all of us based on… Read more »
Charles O. Jones – Hopefully you are not referring to Eminent Domain that “legally” stole the lands from Native Americans. This, I believe is something the United States will ever be forgiven for.
All I am saying is that we have been and will be fantastic stewards of the land that surrounds us. And to not take our small voice into consideration when making decision about the land that surrounds us is wrong.
Jonathan, the adventure trail has nothing to do with their budget money woes. It would actually bring in added income and tourist. I’d have to say the airport law suit is the real problem.
The Supervisors continue to throw our tax payer monies away on frivolous things. The airport is one. If the airport was a viable investment, we shouldn’t still be subsidizing it after all of these years. Good money after bad and all that. The supes and upper management continue to scratch… Read more »
Why??? I can think of a lot of reasons people would want to live and work in the Eastern Sierra. Unfortunately though, there aren’t an abundance of good paying career opportunities here. A county job with a steady paycheck, benefits and a retirement system is better than many other job… Read more »
C O J The whole world would like to live in the Eastern Sierra. If the whole world lived here then nobody would want to live here. I believe that’s called a paradox, or L.A. In order to pay a “living” wage to government employees more and more of your… Read more »
Amazed how everyone is questioning and pointing fingers at the supervisors but no one has questioned the Sheriff…I don’t recall the previous Sheriff’s having this problem…
Agreed Niko- in reality the board of supervisors have limited power which has been slowly stripped away over time. The one with the most power is of course the position that needs no votes every 4 yrs. The C.A.O. and the director of the dept. that takes up the biggest… Read more »
Are you FREAKING kidding me…? The previous Sheriff was nothing BUT a big problem ! His mid-evil methods of doling out punishment, ignoring court orders AND ignoring the Supervisors whenever he felt like it. The sheriff is doing the best she can with what she has. Try comparing what a… Read more »
If I were 20 years younger…
Rick, Your ignorance and love affair for Braun is clouding your judgement. Since Braun and her arrogant undersheriff has taken office, the turn over (retention) has gotten worse and is only going to get worse. Not to mention morale is at an all time low. 99% of the department would… Read more »
All good comments. Let’s not forget that a certain northern Supervisor tried to add even more expenditures and burden to law enforcement by requiring an adventure trails system like Inyo County without the approval of the rest of the board (See this weeks front page Sheet Article). New leadership is… Read more »
Im sorry, how would that burden law enforcement? An adventure trail system does not come at a huge added burden to law enforcement. Inyo County Sheriff has not seen a signifigant increase in calls for service due to the trail system. So I would like to know why you think… Read more »
Interesting…….That is only because the “adventure trail”….much less than the ORV’ers wanted it to be..and business’ hoping to profit from it…is a total flop….no millions of tourist dollars coming into the Owens Valley from it …no increase in local business’….no one coming from SoCal to “pop wheelies” on our local… Read more »
Fraud, Waste, and Abuse. It’s what govt. does best. The taxpayers should DEMAND a private company come in an do an internal audit of both Inyo and Mono counties. All DEPTS. YEARLY NO QUESTIONS ASKED. THAT’S FAIR. I know someone will say they do have audits, which is true. They… Read more »
Perhaps a pie chart showing the taxpayers where the various tax revenues come from would be helpful. It would be nice to see how the various revenue sources support and impact the overall budget.
Face it. These are not good times. The drought continues. The County is going broke.
Mountain Watchdog…..Depends on what your idea of “good times” are…..if I want to dig out problems in the area here,I probably could,just like any area where there are people and population….but I ain’t going to do it….just filed my Social Security retirement….quit one of my jobs..kept one..more free time to… Read more »
Low Inyo – my point is, these are not good economic times for the vast majority of Americans. I’m not referring to the mega-wealthy Southern Californians who have mansions in ski areas that are only used occasionally. The downward spiral began when places like Taiwan can produce a better product… Read more »
No agenda here…
Good work Sheriff! It’s great that you’re pointing out staffing and cost of living issues in Mono County (as well as Inyo County) and how it relates to finding qualified candidates to fill positions. This is a systemic issue throughout the Eastern Sierra not only with the Sheriff’s office but… Read more »
I agree sheriff, the fact that your pointing out staffing and cost of living issues is great. Now PLEASE do something about morale. It’s at an all time low, and that’s pretty bad.
It is sad when most law enforcement agencies in CA are hiring and paying significantly higher wages and benefits than Mono County. The CHP and MLPD wages are so much higher that is causes moral issues within the Sheriff’s Office and continued turn over. I hope the DSA and PSOA… Read more »
Our board of Supervisors need to take a hard look at where they are spending our tax money. In my way of thinking we need to spend money on Emergency care (Paramedics), fire dept’s and Law Enforcement. Too much is being spent (imho) on advertisements. The County has allowed employees… Read more »
The priority is advertising because a board member owns a business in the county. Please help him with his sales.
And he collects TOT at 12%, that goes to the county. Don’t blame the business owners.
Sheriff Braun, I’m sure there are plenty of retired peace officers living in the area that you could put on the streets as reserve officers (deputies) just until you can fill the void . It worked for Mammoth PD under former Chief Watson didn’t it ?
Part of the recruitment problem is the pay and benefits, no doubt. The other part of the retention and recruitment problem is Braun. The sheriff’s dept moral is at an all time low. If Braun would stop to look around and ask why everyone is leaving, she might just realize… Read more »
Maybe we should farm out our legal system, like the rest of corporate America . Or pay employees a living wage.
The lowest deputy salary being offered is over $60K per year. In addition, that comes with health benefits and retirement at 50.
Apparently, people qualified to be deputy sheriffs do not consider that to be a “living wage” in Mono county. Do you?
Tourbillion, it really does matter what we think, it is the marketplace dictates the wage and benefit package. Very few people are willing or qualified to be cops so there are more job openings than cops. Mono County has low wages and high housing prices and high cost of living.… Read more »
I was was making more than $60,000 a year as a carpenter and no one was shooting at me. I was lucky enough to rent a cheap dump in the Mammoth ghetto with a garage that I could afford. And that was 16 years ago. I was so embarrassed by… Read more »
How often are local LEOs shot at? Actually one of the safer jobs in the area.
Naw, you should look into that a little more… and many people are qualified, just not certified, or willing. Respect to LEO’s.
At this point there are no solutions to fix the Mono County Sheriff’s Department. The County simply does not have the money to pay what it costs to recruit and retain quality deputy sheriffs without cutting other important programs such as the Paramedics. Sheriff Braun really needs to be honest… Read more »