Board Approves Oversight of Sheriff’s Office Finances

Redwood City - San Mateo County Supervisors today directed the County Executive's Office to oversee Sheriff's Office finances after a review found reserves had dropped to less than 0.5 percent, significantly below what the County Reserves Policy permits.

Reserves for the Sheriff's Office are a fraction of its $324.2 million budget, far short of the 4 percent minimum set by County policy and the 2 percent threshold that triggers oversight under the reserves policy.

Today's action follows the County's Reserves Policy, which was created to prevent financial instability affecting vital services. Reserves provide a financial cushion against rising costs, revenue shortfalls and new demands on services. If an operating budget deficit exists for two of five fiscal years, the policy allows additional controls and monitoring. In the case of the Sheriff's Office, reserves have been accessed to cover an increasing deficit since 2023. Operational and departmental decisions remain in the hands of the Sheriff and her administration.

To strengthen financial stability, the Board approved a resolution that directs the County 's fiscal team to review all contracts for services and goods and provide support to the Sheriff's Office to meet the policy requirements.

"The County Reserves Policy is consistent with our obligation to be watchdogs over our organization. The Sheriff's Office has not met the reserve requirement across two years," said Supervisor Jackie Speier. "Two of the most important responsibilities of the Board are oversight of county programs and prudent expenditure of taxpayer money. We need to get control of this situation now, not later."

Effie Milionis Verducci
Interim Director of Strategic Communications
650-407-4915
[email protected]