Clackamas County Sheriff Angela Brandenburg Asks for Your Support
On May 19, 2023, Clackamas County Sheriff Angela Brandenburg sent a letter to county residents expressing her concerns regarding the County’s recent cuts to the sheriff office’s budget, which she says is a “misuse of your tax dollars.” She calls on the public to speak out at upcoming county budget meetings in support of fully funding the sheriff’s office.
Message from Sheriff Angela Brandenburg
May 19, 2023
Dear Clackamas County residents,
When I became Sheriff, I took an oath to protect and serve you. An important part of that oath is ensuring that I use your tax dollars responsibly, so my office can provide the services you expect and deserve. Because of my commitment to you, the County is attempting to silence me. And now I need your help, and your voice.
When I asked you to support the Sheriff’s Public Safety Levy in 2021, I promised you I would not allow the County to use the Levy as a slush fund, so that is why I am speaking out now. The County has created its own budget for my office that diverts its General Fund obligation to provide law enforcement services. This is a misuse of your tax dollars.
For the first time in the history of Clackamas County, the County is excluding me from presenting my own budget to the Clackamas County Budget Committee. They are doing this because I refused to agree with the County’s plan to charge the Sheriff’s Levy and the Enhanced Law Enforcement District (ELED) twice for the same materials and services. They have also created a new administrative overhead cost that I have refused to charge to the Sheriff’s Levy and the ELED.
My office is facing an unprecedented nearly $5 million general fund reduction beginning in July. This is happening because the County has to find $15 million in the General Fund to pay the annual payments on the new courthouse.
I responded to the County’s General Fund reduction to my budget by taking a hard look at what General Funded programs, services, and materials my office could eliminate with the least amount of impact on services to you. At the end of the day, I was forced to make the extremely difficult decision to eliminate 34 positions, most of them vacant.
The County rejected my budget and refused to let me cut positions, because cutting law enforcement positions is not a good look for a County that “supports” public safety when it’s trying desperately to pay for a courthouse the County is committed to building.
The County wants to make up the shortfall by charging the Sheriff’s Levy and ELED with higher allocated cost rates (fees for internal County services) and their newly created and inflated administrative overhead costs. When I told them that it was wrong to charge the Sheriff’s Levy and the ELED this way, they took over my $146 million budget. They created their own budget for my office with no knowledge of Sheriff’s Office operations and with no input from me or my financial experts.
Next week the County will present their budget for my office, but I will not be silenced. I will be presenting my own budget information to the Budget Committee, and they will have a choice to make: Misuse your tax dollars, or Accept a budget that eliminates Sheriff Office positions, or Fully fund my office and actually prioritize law enforcement in Clackamas County.
At the end of the day, two of your Commissioners can stand in front of the construction site for the new $313 million courthouse and laud their support for public safety. However, a building doesn’t keep you safe when you call 911 for help on the worst day of your life – your Sheriff’s Office does.
On Monday, May 22 the Budget Committee (which is comprised of the Board of County Commissioners and five public members) will convene. If you want law enforcement truly prioritized in Clackamas County you must let your Commissioners know where you stand and how you want your hard-earned tax dollars spent now. You can find their contact information here: https://www.clackamas.us/bcc
It is my honor to protect and serve you.
Sincerely,
Sheriff Angela Brandenburg
Clackamas County