How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved spending up to the high six figures on furniture for a new sheriff’s facility, after a supervisor raised concerns about the cost of office chairs.
The $739,036.92 in funding the board approved will cover furnishings for the new sheriff’s administration facility under renovation at the former National Guard Armory site located at 1431 Hoyt Ave. in Lakeport, next to the Lake County Jail.
Work started in early 2025 on the project, which in 2024 was estimated to cost around $21 million, and is expected to be completed in June.
The furniture purchase agreement was included in the consent agenda – items considered routine, noncontroversial and typically approved in a single vote, according to the agenda.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier, who requested to pull the item for discussion, questioned the hefty price tag of office chairs included in the purchase agreement.
“We’re buying 61 chairs at approximately seven-hundred-plus dollars a piece,” he said, referring to items from the agreement. “That to me is one of the things that just stands out.”
He also pointed toward guest seats at over $1,000.
“This is money that I think could be better used for purposes of law enforcement and safety,” Sabatier said.
A search for “chair” in the agreement shows 53 mentions of the word. Under each “chair” item, the number of that type to be ordered varies.
The highest-priced chair identified by Lake County News was a “Chord” model described as “high back, large scale, pillow upholstered, pneumatic height adjustable and aluminum arm,” costing $3,019.94 each.
The agreement shows the department plans to purchase 10 of those chairs for a conference room, totaling $30,199.40 – approaching what an average Lake County resident could make in a year.
“Our community is struggling – we have certain departments who are struggling from changes in laws and funding that will occur,” Sabatier said at the board meeting, referring to the Social Services Department, which has reported an upcoming budget crisis due to federal cuts and state changes in social services and health care programs.
“This does not feel – from my perspective – that this is cutting any corners or being thrifty,” Sabatier said. “So apologize, but today I cannot approve this as is.”
Unusually high government spending on hardware is not uncommon, both historically and in recent years.
In 1984, a military procurement controversy revealed purchases such as $400 hammers and a Navy tool kit of 21 items priced at $10,168.56, while a member of Congress was able to assemble the same tools for $92.44.
More recently, in 2025, San Francisco proposed a $10 million contract to purchase trash bins.
Sheriff Bingham on overpriced chairs: ‘I missed that’
Lake County Sheriff Luke Bingham responded at the board meeting that he also was “a little surprised” by some of the chair prices. But for him, not all of them are unreasonable.
“We went moderately priced on everything we did for furniture,” he said. “Unfortunately, it is expensive.”
During the last six months in the sheriff’s office alone, “We spend anywhere from $400 to $700 on office chairs,” Bingham said, adding that an office chair in the $200 to $250 range “is not of quality and will break in two to three years.”
Bingham added that office chairs are priced anywhere from $500 to $2,000 each. “We didn't obviously go that direction,” he said.
The Chord chairs of over $3,000 each were not being discussed.
Quality chairs, Bingham said, are expected to last five to six years.
He added that most of the current furniture in the sheriff’s office is at least 10 to 20 years old, some desks broken.
Bingham also said that he agreed with Sabatier completely that some of the chair prices are “unacceptable” that he missed out during the contract negotiation.
“I will take complete blame on that,” he said. “I missed that when I reviewed it.”
He said he would work on a future contract amendment to “eliminate those” and come up with more fiscally responsible and reasonably priced options.
Sabatier thanked Bingham for his sincerity. Sabatier agreed to move forward approving the package of not to exceed $739,036.92, “if we can get an updated list of what that looks like once the purchase is final.”
All supervisors voted in favor of the resolution.
The staff memo said that the county secured the furniture package with the manufacturer Steelcase, through a third-party contractor called Sourcewell, which solicits biddings and awards contracts for public agencies. It allows the county “to obtain competitively bid pricing without issuing a separate bid,” the memo said.
Interim Public Works Director Lars Ewing said he, as the former Public Services director, was “an intermediary connecting the architect who was working on the facility design with the sheriff's office for any furnishings, fixtures and equipment.”
“It's more than just buying a chair or the laundry list of items in there,” Ewing said, adding that the company also designed the office’s uniquely shaped tables. “The company that we are contracting with also provides design services.”
Lingzi Chen is a staff reporter at Lake County News and a 2024-2026 California Local News Fellow. Email her at lchen@lakeconews.com.
