County eliminates Sonoma Valley deputy position

While there will be no change to police staffing levels within Sonoma city limits, the Sheriff’s Sonoma Valley sub-station will lose one officer as a result of recent county budget cuts.
“There’s one less body on the street,” said Sonoma Police Chief Bret Sackett.
The position has been unfilled for several months, Sackett said. With the county’s sweeping $10 million budget cuts, announced March 3, it is permanently eliminated.
The budget maneuver caps the sub-station officer staff at 14, including one school resource officer.
The City of Sonoma contracts with the County Sheriff for police services. That contract, signed in 2004 and set to expire in July, guarantees levels of service and is unaffected by county budget cuts. “The City of Sonoma will see no change in the level of service,” Sackett said.
The budget move eliminates an unfilled vacancy from the Valley sub-station, said Sheriff Captain Matt McCaffrey. There will be no reduction in current services within the coverage area, he said, “but we can’t fill that position in the future.”
Sackett describes the job as “a cover position,” a noon to 10 p.m. shift, four days a week.
He stressed that there will always be a minimum of two officers on patrol, the current policy.
“Nobody wants to see cuts affecting public safety,” said Sackett. “The decision was how to mitigate the impact, and what would have the least impact on the community.”