BY ELAINE GOODMAN
Daily Post Correspondent
A budget surplus at the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office has shrunk from $36.7 million in fiscal year 2022-23 to $3.2 million – a drop the department attributes to spending on the sheriff’s new headquarters and a technology server upgrade.
The $36.7 million surplus at the sheriff’s office dropped to $19.26 in fiscal year 2023-24 and to $3.246 million in the current 2024-25 fiscal year. That’s an overall decrease of more than $33 million. Sheriff Christina Corpus, whose office has been mired in controversy in recent weeks, took office in January 2023, midway through fiscal year 2022-23.
The surplus is also known as the department’s “fund balance” – which consists of extra revenue the department wasn’t expecting, money that was appropriated but not yet spent and fund balance rolled over from the previous year.
In addition to the fund balance decrease, the sheriff’s office also has been falling short of the county’s reserve requirement, which called for departments to have a reserve of 2% of their net appropriations. Some other departments also aren’t meeting the reserve requirement, officials said during a Board of Supervisors meeting last week.
Supervisors voted Sept. 24 to increase the reserve requirement for departments to 4% and for the county’s general fund overall to 15%, up from 10%. That’s seen as a way to be better prepared for natural disasters or another event like the Covid-19 pandemic.
The sheriff’s office reserve fund has been at $3.246 million for several years, an amount that’s currently only 1% of net appropriations.
Sheriff’s Office Communications Director Gretchen Spiker addressed the $33 million drop in fund balance as well as the failure to meet the reserve requirement in an email to the Post.
Spiker said it’s “normal practice to budget one-time capital and technology projects in fund balance,” such as the sheriff’s office new headquarters and a server upgrade.
Now that the headquarters project is wrapping up this fiscal year, “we are confident in our ability to build our reserves back up to the recommended levels,” Spiker said.
According to the county’s Office of Budget and Performance, the major items that the sheriff’s office paid for with its fund balance include:
– Sheriff’s office headquarters building project: $27.8 million
– Server modernization project: $2.09 million
– Sheriff’s work program software replacement project: $404,000
– Investigations data integration project: $1.2 million
The sheriff’s office started moving into its new headquarters in downtown Redwood City in May. The new headquarters is at the former site of the Old Maguire Jail, next to the Maguire Correctional Facility and across the street from the Hall of Justice, where the sheriff’s office had previously been located.
The project received funding from The Arrillaga Foundation and the late John Arrillaga Sr., whom the facility is named after.
Meanwhile, controversy has been swirling at the sheriff’s office. This month, two unions – the Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the Organization of Sheriff’s Sergeants – cast a resounding vote of “no confidence” in Corpus’ chief of staff, Victor Aenlle.
The county Board of Supervisors hired former judge LaDoris Cordell to investigate a growing number of employee complaints at the sheriff’s office.
Last week, Corpus fired Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan after he talked to the investigator, according to Supervisor Ray Mueller.
Corpus denied that Monaghan’s firing was in retaliation for talking to Cordell. And the sheriff has fired back, accusing County Executive Mike Callagy of bullying, interference and “abuse of power.” She asked the board of supervisors to investigate his conduct.
Departments that don’t meet the county’s reserve requirement face a number of potential consequences.
If a department falls below its 4% reserve requirement, it must present a plan to the county executive’s office explaining how it will get back on track.
If the department’s reserves are less than 2%, the department may be required to submit all contracts to the county executive’s office for approval. Normally, contracts of $200,000 or less don’t need that approval.
And if a department has been running a deficit for two out of five fiscal years, the county executive’s office may take over handling of its finances.
“Now that the headquarters project is wrapping up this fiscal year, “we are confident in our ability to build our reserves back up to the recommended levels,” Spiker said.”
What about the substation and day care? Where are those renovation, furnishings, and staffing costs coming from? Allegedly, Victor didn’t follow the County’s procurement rules, which is going to further delay that project and result in even higher costs. Where are the reserve monies for that?
Victor, you’ve got some explaining to do.
He will have her blame someone else, and cry “racism/sexism – it’s someone else’s fault”, and she will. It’s kind of scary to have an unqualified narcissist calling the shots at the most important law enforcement agency in the County. But the work is turning…
The sheriff who doesn’t care about anyone except herself and creepy Victor. The most narcissistic person I have ever met. Ignores complaints(HR must forget so send female complaints about Victor to CC) and she ignores the unions( I mean they are just political theatre) and creates distractions to draw attention away from her man(defames publicly a good man and then slanders and defames another good man). Publicly she send out BS videos bout crime rates and day cares. Who cares about your lies and crap anyone. You gots to go CC- bye you weak vial woman.
Where is all the money going Cruella? Fake travel plans to spend time with your team?
Another example of Corpus not knowing what she is talking about. During her campaign she suggested using donated money earmarked for the new headquarters to pay Deputy salaries. Nobody challenged her on that ridiculous idea Last week she was complaining that the DSA cut her out of contract talks regarding overtime with the county…. A conversation she has no place in.
It seems she has been able to finance romantic getaways (work trips) on the county dime, but still has no clue how to run a Budget.
A substantial and planned drop in reserve funds may be problematic, or expected, after a capital project is completed. As I recall, the Headquarters Project was initially undertaken by Sheriff Munks, through effective planning and coordination with the County Executive, then approved by the Board of Supervisors. It was locally published at that time. The project continued along the same lines through Sheriff Bolanos’ administration, again with coordination of the County Executive and approval of the Board. What expenditures were anticipated, approved, budgeted and expended? It seems that simple project audits and fiscal audits, will reveal where the $33-million of public funding went, details of what it was spent on, and by whom, when.
I imagine some public records requests (PRAs) through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the County or the Sheriff, would also provide insight to this line of inquiry. Purchases related to the Headquarters Project during Sheriff Corpus’ term alone might be very insightful. As would PRAs for Sheriff Corpus’, and Mr Aenlle’s, training and experience in managing capital projects, inasmuch as managing capital projects generally, be it a Headquarters Project or a Daycare Center, has much to do with the fiscal aspects of the particular project.
For that matter, PRAs for Sheriff Corpus’, and Mr Aenlle’s, training and experience in purchasing ethics might also be insightful. As I recall, Assembly Bill (AB) 1234, which was signed into law in 2005 and became effective on January 1, 2006, requires, among other things, that elected and appointed officials who receive compensation for their services, or are reimbursed for their expenses, are obligated to find and receive training on both ethics principles and ethics laws (Government Code §§ 53234-53235.2).
Again, if I recall correctly, newly elected or appointed local agency officials are required to initially complete two hours of that training within one year of taking office. The training must cover public service ethics laws and ethics principles. Therefore a PRA or FOIA request for the statutorily required ethics training, successfully completed by Sheriff Corpus and the rest of her original Executive Team, Aenlle, Hsiung and Monaghan might well be informative and shed light on budgetary, as well as other contemporary, issues. Who was the Sheriff’s Office Project Manager for the Headquarters Project during Sheriff Corpus’ administration?
As I recall, during her campaign for Sheriff, Corpus was against the construction of the new headquarters (HQ) and, if elected, vowed to cut funding for the project. Except, I recall, during the Munks/Bolanos years, there was a generous citizen who donated funds for the HQ project.
Does the amount include the $8M lawsuit that was just settled or any of the current pending cases?
Some elected officials think they are immune to rules and laws. Time will tell my friends, time will tell. Be careful what you say so noone can claim a mistrial or bank on having everything thrown out. Like they say don’t show your cards, people may call your bluff or maybe the wrong people will know what hand of cards you hold. Make sure the bad ones get punished, don’t do anything to let them get away with their wrong doings. Let’s see this thing through and save the county of more law suits!
Hopefully, Corpus you know Victor has his lawyers lined up trying to point the fingers and he will run like a baby crying mommy made me do it . After all CORPUS, you are the Sheriff and signed off on everything!
Check mate will be glorious to see Aenlle and Corpus. Good attempt to ruin a county. Too many good people to let that happen
“Victor has his lawyers lined up”. Victor is dumb enough to sue. In a lawsuit, all the dirty laundry will come out.
Let’s hope ALL the dirty laundry comes out. Exposing how the realtor owns the land that the migrant workers are living on in Half Moon Bay. Has he paid any property taxes? Does Aenlle think he’s not responsible for the unliveable conditions on the land he owns? What about the workers that were shot and killed last year there, wondering if lawsuits will start piling up.
When will Corpus see how unethical and dangerous this Chief of Staff is. Draining the SO now personal pockets of his family inherited money. Creep
I am not impressed with what I see from Corpus. She has a department begging her to come to the table and she ignores them. Publically also she ignores this and then files a complaint supposedly from 2 years ago.
Man, woman or ANY person of color should be questioned. And now documented the downfall of the SO. Multiple allegations and complaints are ignored against this person and Corpus goes on TV to talk about herself and ignore allegations, complaints from multiiile unions and defend the perpetrator?
Now the budget is in turmoil? At what point does Corpus wake up- we are all eyes wide open in disbelief an disgust.