Va. law enforcement officers protest proposed budget cuts

Richmond Times-Dispatch

RICHMOND, Va. — More than 75 law-enforcement officials from around the state appealed to legislators and Gov. Bob McDonnell to forestall proposed cuts to their agencies.

"The proposed cuts are devastating," said Stafford County Sheriff Charles E. Jett, president of the Virginia Sheriffs Association.

Former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's budget for 2010-12 proposes $270 million in cuts to sheriff's departments and commonwealth's attorney's offices, in addition to roughly $73 million in cuts to local police departments.

Jett said the cuts amount to reductions of about 25 percent in law-enforcement services and would cost sheriff's departments across the state about 1,500 positions. Commonwealth's attorneys across the state are down 100 prosecutors.

Officials said about 65 percent of Virginians depend on the aid the state provides to localities for their law-enforcement services.

Sheriffs, police and prosecutors said further reductions in public safety would make it nearly impossible to protect themselves and the roads, jails and communities they police.

"No local government can absorb that significant an impact and continue to provide the services we do," said Waynesboro Police Chief Doug Davis.

"Now we are asking them to do the impossible for less,' said Del. Charles W. Carrico, R-Grayson, a former state trooper and one of seven state lawmakers to speak in support of sparing public safety.

Wayne Huggins, executive director of the Virginia State Police Association, said state police are looking at more than $52 million in cuts and already have more than 200 trooper positions vacant. "It's an extremely dire situation," he said.

Dire as Kaine's proposed cuts seem to law-enforcement officials, the other shoe is yet to drop. McDonnell has ruled out tax increases to balance an estimated $4.2 billion budget shortfall. That means that he and lawmakers must find an additional $2 billion in cuts across the government to balance the state's two-year budget.

Lawmakers expressed support for bipartisan bills that would seek to offset reductions for law enforcement.

"Nothing says I love you quite like cash -- and I think that's where we are now," said Sen. Janet D. Howell, D-Fairfax.

Among those in attendance was former Republican Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle, now sheriff of Virginia Beach. Stolle, having seen both sides of the issue, said his former colleagues in the legislature need to set priorities to weather the storm.

"You cut education, and you increase class size," he said. "You cut public safety, and people die. And that's a dramatic and stark difference between the decisions they have to make on cuts."

Copyright 2010 Richmond Times-Dispatch