Do you feel safe?

The issue of public safety funding is a long and often complicated one. The dynamics of such a battle between elected officials can leave a person disheartened and weary.

There must be a simple way for layman such as myself to understand the budget battle with a simple question, do I feel safe? The answer is yes. Ventura County has often had some of the safest cites in the nation.

This is not by accident, it is by design. In the past, the county board of supervisors has made public safety their top priority. In 1995, the board of supervisors passed an ordinance mandating that all monies from the Prop 172 funds be spent on critical public safety.

It is hopeful that at the time the board made its decisions it had qualified advice from then CEO, county counsel, and their dedicated staff. Assuming that was the case why was there a need to "change" the formula? Was their decision flawed?

The funding of the sheriff’s department budget is not just an issue for those residents that live in the unincorporated areas of Ventura County. It is also an issue for those residents such as me that live in an incorporated city.

All residents are and will be affected by the loss of sheriff’s department funding. There are certain services that the sheriff’s department provides to the cities that help reduce the already low crime rates that will be lost without adequate funding.

It is time to hold all of the board of supervisors to the promises they made in 1995. Do you feel safe?

Maybe now, but with the budget cuts proposed by the board that feeling of safety may become the past. We as citizens of Ventura County need to maintain the integrity of the sheriff’s department funding while mandating that the board of supervisors maintain their integrity from 1995.

Jim Kenney

Ventura