Public safety cuts unlikely in Adelanto, yet officials ask 'what if?'

ADELANTO — Achieving a balanced budget for fiscal year 2015-16 by digging into dwindling reserves, city officials have made it clear they are unlikely to look at further public safety cuts for relief.

But what if the city, at some point, simply could no longer pay the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department for services? The question was posed during last Wednesday's City Council meeting by Councilman Ed Camargo.

Victor Valley Station Capt. Phil Brown responded that a failure to pay would almost certainly result in a reduction of services, but he could not frame what exactly that would look like.

County spokeswoman Felisa Cardona had a similar response last week.

"This is a complex legal question that would require significant analysis," she said.

Brown acknowledged that top sheriff's officials have met to discuss the scenario. The city's current contract calls for the department-minimum of three deputies-per-shift and Brown said Sheriff John McMahon is unwilling to rework the agreement for even lesser services out of concern for officer safety.

In addition, Brown said that in one meeting with county CEO Greg Devereaux, the county's top executive said, "Where are we supposed to come up with $7 million?" in reference to the possibility the county would have to cover the combined police and fire contract costs to the city.

Former Assistant Finance Director Vanessa Martinez on Wednesday presented a balanced spending plan (although not operational) which showed costs of $5.19 million for police and $2.31 million for fire. The two areas, along with labor costs, make up the three biggest components to the city's general fund.

Revenues for fiscal year 2015-16 are projected at $11.56 million, a shortfall compared to $13.3 million in projected expenses. The gap is being filled by drawing nearly $1.8 million from reserves. The city is left with about $2.7 million in reserves, according to Martinez, who stepped down from her position last month to spend time with family, but was retained in a consultant role to finalize the budget.

Based on the current progression, the city will run out of cash no later than the end of fiscal year 2016-17 without establishing a permanent and significant source of additional revenue, she said.

City officials have been crafty in trimming expenditures in recent years, with some of those cuts falling from public safety. This fiscal year, the city reduced its contract with San Bernardino County Fire by 5.5 percent by eliminating the on-call paid firefighters program. In 2013, they closed a fire station, saving the city more than $1 million.

That same year, the city reduced its sheriff's roster by cutting the city's only gang deputy, a clerical staff member and a sheriff's service specialist, saving over $300,000, according to Brown.

Having City Manager Tom Thornton serve simultaneously right now as City Engineer and Public Works Director has saved the city $227,000.

But Mayor Rich Kerr alluded to the days of public safety cuts now being in the rear-view mirror, even if the same isn't necessarily true for city employees.

"We can't cut on the sheriff, and we can't cut on the fire or anything," Mayor Rich Kerr said. "The only thing we can do if we want to save any type of money is within ourselves."

To that point, Mayor Pro Tem Jermaine Wright said he believed the city had sliced too many lower-level salaries and not enough off the top.

"We're cutting the people who are actually out there (doing the legwork)," he said. "We cut workers and yet management stays, and where's the bang for the buck for the citizens?"

Martinez added that managerial positions were among those eliminated during sweeping layoffs two years ago, when a total of 19 staff positions were eliminated.

Wright asked Martinez for a recommendation on how to decrease the deficit other than to cut services. Martinez told him the city just needed to identify more revenue sources.

Following the Council meeting, Martinez reiterated to the Daily Press that the emphasis should be on long-term revenue generation since the city has reached a point where it's essentially operating bare bones.