Layoffs possible for Pittsylvania County Sheriff's Office

Pittsylvania County Sheriff Mike Taylor said he may have to eliminate 22 deputies under one of his four budget proposals given to the Board of Supervisors’ Finance Committee Monday.

Uncertainty over how much funding Gov. Bob McDonnell will provide to localities — whether he will restore cuts by former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine — has left county officials unsure how to shape Pittsylvania’s upcoming 2010-11 budget.

To be safe, Taylor has crafted four possible budget proposals under different fiscal scenarios. One proposal, under a possible 17-percent reduction in funding compared to 2009-10, includes cutting 22 deputies from Taylor’s force.

The county has already asked its departments to prepare for a 10 percent cut in local money, while Kaine slashed another 7 percent to the department.

Having to lay off deputies wouldn’t just compromise public safety, it would continue the 10-year ratcheting down of funding for the sheriff’s office, Taylor said.

“We’ve been doing more with less since 2000,” Taylor said after the Finance Committee’s meeting Monday. “We can’t go on like this.”

In 2009, the sheriff’s office served 3,657 warrants and indictments, initiated more than 3,000 felony investigations, and seized and logged in 2,500 pieces of evidence, Taylor said.

The sheriff’s office has approximately 80 deputies.

Taylor acknowledges the tough job the Board of Supervisors faces in drawing the county’s budget. Hank Davis, Chatham-Blairs supervisor and chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said the sheriff’s office’s situation is up in the air.

“This is putting the cart before the horse,” Davis said of how to address the budget issues the sheriff’s office faces. “We don’t know what the state’s going to contribute.”

The commonwealth provides about 52 percent of money for the sheriff’s office, while the county covers the remaining 48 percent, Taylor said.

Of the four budget proposals, the first — at a total of $9.2 million — factors in a 17-percent decrease from last year and includes the layoffs, while budget No. 2 has a 10-percent reduction and is about $9.8 million.

The third proposed budget remains level with 2009-10 at about $9.1 million and the last totals about $11.3 million.

The second budget scenario would be a bare bones force with citizens able to only access the sheriff’s office by calling 911, Taylor said. The force would have no cell phones, no e-mail, no radios.

“We’d go back to the way we operated in the 1980s,” Taylor said, adding that call responses would be slower.

Giving area residents a sense of safety costs money and is a core value, Taylor said.

“People are concerned for their safety,” he said. “People want to be safe in their homes.”

With increasing technology, criminals are getting smarter, wiser, Taylor said. However, Taylor remains hopeful.

“I’m optimistic that we’re going to weather this,” said Taylor, who’s been with the sheriff’s office since 1975.