LAKE COUNTY – California's budget crisis has potentially far-reaching effects for many services on the local level, including police funding.

Lakeport Police Chief Kevin Burke and Clearlake Police Chief Allan McClain say several state funding sources may be in danger this year because of proposed cuts.

Burke will be in Sacramento today to visit with local legislators and lobby state leaders to forgo cuts that could have palpable impacts on police departments, especially small ones such as his.

Among the proposals on the table affecting police from the Legislative Analyst's Office are the abolishment of COPS grant funding, a long-running grant that would cease by the next fiscal year, said Burke.

Both Lakeport and Clearlake receive $100,000 a year from the COPS grant, according to Burke and McClain. Burke said the money is meant to supplement city funds.

“What we usually do is apply it to police salaries,” he said.

The grant helps pay for 1.5 police officer positions, said Burke. “We get a lot out of that $100,000.”

McClain said one Clearlake police officer position is tied to the COPS grant, with the remainder going for equipment purchases.

The state also is suggesting rolling back a provision recently negotiated by the California Police Chiefs Association to set up a state fund to pay sheriff's offices for police booking fees, said Burke.

That agreement has only been in effect one year, but it meant a savings of between $15,000 and $20,000 for Lakeport, said Burke. McClain added that his department saved between $20,000 and $30,000.

Another potential cut involves Proposition 172 funds, said Burke.

Known also as the Public Safety Augmentation Fund, which was passed by voters in 1993, Proposition 172 is a half-cent sales tax that offers funding for a variety of public safety services ranging from police and sheriffs, to fire departments and district attorneys, according to the California Local Government Finance Almanac.

The Legislative Analyst's Office reports that the funds are allocated to counties based on their share of statewide taxable sales, and then from counties to cities.

The state legislative analyst proposes to reallocate $178 million in Proposition 172 funds from cities into an account to support parole realignment. Burke said the funds instead would go to county probation departments in order to deal with thousands of parolees the state is proposing to release early.

Lakeport Police receives between $35,000 and $40,000 from the funds, which Burke said fluctuates because of sales tax revenue. Clearlake Finance Director Michael Vivrette said the Clearlake budget does not separate out the Proposition 172 money, so he did not have an amount that the city receives.

All of those bites amount to as much as $160,000 out of Lakeport's budget, which Burke said this year totaled just over $1.8 million. The city has 14 sworn officers, with two current vacancies.

McClain's said his department's budget is just under $4 million, with 24 sworn officers and two openings. The department lost open four positions in the last budget cycle due to the city's budget challenge.

Watching the state's threats to local funding is becoming an annual process, said McClain. He added that his department is waiting to see what the governor's May budget revise will contain to have a clearer future of the coming budget year.

“Funds for law enforcement have been dwindling consistently for the last 10 years,” he said.

In the mean time, he's communicating with the offices of Assembly member Patty Berg and state Sen. Patricia Wiggins to ask for their help in stopping the cuts.

Trying to prevent other cuts

In addition to lobbying against the cuts that are currently proposed, Burke will spend part of the day Tuesday advocating legislators in Sacramento to make sure anti-gang, dropout prevention, after school and preschool programs are preserved.

Burke said 465 local youth are served by those programs.

Lake County also receives $1.1 million from the state annually to provide low-income children with a preschool program.

Those services aren't officially on the chopping block, said Burke. “Our goal in going over there on Tuesday is to try and maintain these programs.”

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