More layoffs at Lucas Co Sheriff

Sixteen deputies with the Lucas County Sheriff's Department will be out of a job on Friday.

Another 60 to 70 could receive pink slips in the upcoming months.

Over the past two years, the department has lost 60 deputies to retirements and disability.

Fewer sheriff's deputies patrolling the streets, providing security in the county's courthouses and in the jail of course can pose a risk to public safety and the safety of those who remain on the force.

It's a fact the sheriff's office, deputies, and county commissioners can agree upon.

But when it comes to the budget there is a lot they don't agree on.

The commissioners forced every department in the county to take a cut, some 10-percent, others 7.5-percent, including the sheriff's office.

"Everyone else seems to be managing their budget and it's different and takes time, but over the last 10 years we've been over budget eight times," said Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken.

He said the commissioners are doing what has to be done so they don't have an outlandish budget deficit like the city of Toledo has had in the past.

"You can't pay bills with money you don't have," Gerken said.

This year, 2010, that won't happen. So, Sheriff James Telb is left with the hard decision to cut his staff.

"The sheriff is operating under a budget that the commissioners gave him that is the lowest we've had in five years," said Ken Lortz, Region 2-B representative of the UAW. "(The Sheriff's Department is) trying to provide some services with less people."

"It's in the hands of the commissioners, in my opinion, and it's a matter of priorities," Lortz added.

According to FOX Toledo News media partner The Toledo Free Press, the union and county commissioners disagree on plans to prevent additional layoffs. The sheriff’s office must cut about $1.2 million to meet this year’s budget of $33.2 million, which is the lowest it has been in the past five years, according to numbers provided Region 2-B UAW, a union representing employees of the sheriff’s office.