The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors this week decided to leave control of the county jail system with the Sheriff’s Office after agreeing that the law enforcement agency was showing signs of improvement in managing overtime costs.

The board had discussed establishing a new office or creating a new role in the Auditor-Controller’s Office dedicated to overseeing the county jails, or a combination of the two proposals, amid concerns about the Sheriff’s Office overtime.

A vote to establish an Office of the Inspector General failed 4-1, with Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann the sole vote in favor.

One of the board’s main concerns is the jail system’s operational costs. The inspector general could review overtime use by the Sheriff’s Office, which has repeatedly exceeded its annual overtime budget.

The department has already exceeded its $10 million overtime budget for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.  

A new Inspector General’s Office would have an annual cost of $536,500, staff said, while creating a dedicated role in the auditor’s office would cost $180,734 annually.

Sheriff Bill Brown spoke out against the proposal, stating that his department can provide any data the county wants.

He added that his department is already understaffed, and new regulations would only slow it down more. He said the Sheriff’s Office already complies with agencies at the federal, state and local levels.

He said his department has also worked to decrease overtime costs through new controls to track and manage overtime use.

“We have made changes that have significantly reduced our overtime,” Brown said.

He supported delaying a control decision and said the board should “make sure that we’re not doing something that is going to be ineffective and also potentially open up the community to a significant amount of liability and litigation.”

Hartmann expressed support for establishing a new office or creating a new role in the Auditor’s Office.

She said overtime costs have been an issue in the Sheriff’s Office since she first joined the board.

“I have a great deal of respect for the sheriff, and he deserves all credit for the culture that he’s created of de-escalation and a sympathy for those suffering from mental illness,” Hartmann said. “But the day-to-day management has not been the strongest suit in this department.”

She also declared that the board is not blameless for the situation in which the Sheriff’s Office finds itself because the board had allowed the law enforcement agency to use overtime and had approved its budgets.

The rest of the board was not supportive of creating the new office or moving forward with the auditor position, partially because of the county’s current budget concerns.

Supervisors Roy Lee and Bob Nelson acknowledged that the department has shown signs of improvement.

Lee added that he believes the Sheriff’s Office needs more oversight, but he said he wanted to give the office more time to improve.  

Supervisor Steve Lavagnino proposed that the board wait to establish a new office or position, but supported discussing setting aside funds for the position at the county’s budget meetings in case the board decides to revisit the topic in the future.