Amador County – Ione Police Chief Michael L. Johnson and his officers last week offered almost 40 percent in budget cuts to help the city with its General Fund deficit, though he hoped not all the cuts would be made.

The $260,000 he offered included layoff of his “least senior police officer,” selling a K-9 officer and ending the dog program. He also offered jobs of a full-time records clerk, and part-time property clerk. A man in the audience said: “You must be careful when you are making reductions that impact coverage on the street.”

Mayor David Plank said “we are all aware of that. And now we have another gang, an Asian gang influencing the area,” referring to a suspected failed marijuana theft that led to a fatal shooting Sept. 27 on Carbondale Road.

A man asked how much of a decrease the city faces, and Interim City Manager Jeff Butzlaff said the $2 million believed to be in the General Fund was found to have decreased to $1.5 million, or “a net of $1.3 million of pure General Fund revenue. That is a huge drop in a very short period of time.”

One woman asked if IPD gets rid of its K-9, can they get a dog from the Amador County Sheriff’s Department when needed. An Ione officer said sometimes it might be available, and sometimes it might not. Jackson has one dog, and the sheriff has two, but “it goes both ways. We help them, they help us.”

Johnson said he will cover shifts when needed, as he already does, and the goal is to maintain around-the-clock coverage. At a recent conference on the state’s approach to federal prisoner release mandates, he said Gov. Jerry Brown told of his “professional commitment to law enforcement funding.” There will be 53 felony releases in Amador County, Johnson said, “but we don’t know where they are going to land.”

Like the Governor said at the convention, “public safety is the number one responsibility of the government,” Johnson said, and IPD will “reduce budgets, reduce salaries, and do whatever we have to do.”

A woman asked about IPD’s Volunteer Patrol, and Johnson said its budget, from donations, is kept separate. He has 12 officers, soon to get one more. The unit uses an old squad car that looks good but is old. Gasoline and comp insurance are paid by the city, Johnson said, “but in my opinion, that’s a small price to pay.” All officers have full-time jobs and respond to calls when they can.

Councilman Daniel Epperson asked if people could donate bags of dog food to help the K-9 program. Johnson said: “Yes, of course. It’s going to take the community pitching in to make this all work.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.