EDITOR’S NOTE: Gordon gave me a call yesterday afternoon and it wasn’t to talk about the weather. He’d just seen a story on a valley news channel about the Tillamook County cutting Sheriff’s office positions, and wanted to find out what was going on. I explained that the social media post had a mis-leading headline and that the cuts were unfilled positions – no “cuts” to filled positions, and then he shared the story below about a similar situation under Sheriff Todd Anderson. As Gordon said, “Sheriff Anderson was a team player. He understood the process. To balance the budget, cuts have to come from somewhere.”
By Gordon McCraw, for the Tillamook County Pioneer
As many of you know, I was a member of the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office from 2006 through 2021. Thanks to the Navy and my positions at the Sheriff’s Office, I have extensive management and budgeting experience.
I have noted with interest the recent news of the proposed 2023-2024 Budget Cutbacks resulting from reduced Timber Revenue. Early discussions it seems included cutting some unfilled positions within the Sheriff Department. Well, to add some insight from my previous experience on this subject, I was employed by the Sheriff’s Office when, under Sheriff Anderson, we faced similar cutbacks, again due to Timber Revenue shortfalls. I recall that Sheriff Anderson worked very closely with the Accounting Department and the Commissioners to save filled positions, resulting in no personnel cuts. Part of the solution was to remove positions that had been vacant for several years. It was close, but personnel cuts were not necessary after working with the Commissioners and the Budget Committee.
So now, the county is walking down a similar road where cutbacks are necessary to balance the budget. On the surface, it sounds incredibly bad that the county is cutting 6 Full Time Positions from the Sheriff’s Office. A point of fact though, it is more accurate to say, this is one option the Accounting Department has offered to the Commissioners. It has NOT gone to the Budget Committee for consideration. Another thing to consider, even if they cut these positions, it is my understanding it will result in NO manpower cuts, all the cut positions are, and have been, unfilled for several years. We all know that with the current climate of policing and the negative publicity policing has received, getting recruits is extremely difficult. Who wants to go to work for that amount of pay, putting your lives on the line and being subjected to the scrutiny seen in the press by individuals that do not understand what it is really like?
It is also my understanding that the Commissioners have stated, in public, that they are willing to look at adding the Full Time Positions back should the Sheriff’s Office find recruits to fill the empty positions, after reviewing them on a case-by-case basis. This is how the County has been adding positions for probably the last 10 years in other departments. The Department Head has discussions with the Accounting Director, then their Liaison, then takes it to the Board for Consideration and Approval.
All this to say, I think there is a misunderstanding about how this will actually affect the Sheriff’s Office, and the process.