Sheriff Jim Cooper has warned publicly that Sacramento County’s proposed 2026-27 budget would force his department to gut specialized units and trigger a “public safety crisis,” claiming patrol deputies and detectives would drop from 480 to 394.

County Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez echoed the alarm on social media, posting that the proposed budget would “significantly reduce law enforcement services” and weaken neighborhood safety.

An examination of the Sheriff’s Office’s internal budget submittal, obtained by The Observer, tells a different story.

The sheriff proposed eliminating approximately 140 positions and several specialized units to meet county budget targets, but the document states those positions would be reassigned into existing vacancies rather than eliminated.

In other words, the proposed budget would lay off no active law enforcement personnel.

“It is important to note that we are not reducing current staff; rather, we are proposing staff be reassigned to fill other department vacant positions,” the report states.

The Observer asked the Sheriff’s Office for clarification but did not receive a response in time for publication.

While specialized units are being dissolved on paper to satisfy a mandatory countywide reduction exercise, the employees assigned to those roles are simply being moved to existing, prefunded vacancies.

The documents also reveal that every specialized unit the sheriff warned would be cut — including the Homeless Outreach Team, the gangs units, Marine Patrol, and the Special Enforcement Detail — would have its personnel reassigned to other vacancy positions also.

Cooper in February told Fox 40 that the county’s 2.8% budget deficit impacts his office more than others because it draws more general fund money than any other county entity.

“We’re taking the biggest hit, and right now I think the public has spoken that … crime is number one,” Cooper told the station.

Because voters approved Proposition 36, Cooper said that work shouldn’t be curtailed with budget cuts.

Prop 36 took effect in late 2024 rolled back key provisions of 2014’s Prop 47, reinstating harsher criminal penalties for repeat theft and low-level drug offenses.

“We’ve done all this good work, and it can’t be for naught. I’m hoping and praying that the Board [of Supervisors] does fund us — but, once again, it’s tough decisions,” Cooper said.

A $16 Million Request

At the same time Cooper warned of a public safety emergency, his department separately requested $16 million in new appropriations — enough to add 45 positions and 18 brand-new vehicles.

The requests include two new vehicles for the Homeless Outreach Team — the same unit the sheriff warned could be eliminated. Other vehicle requests cover patrol operations, specialized investigations, and waterway enforcement.

A significant portion of the growth — $11.7 million through a separate county correctional health appropriation — is driven by the office’s legal obligations under the federal Mays Consent Decree to fund accessibility and medical upgrades inside county jail facilities.

Warnings of an impending safety crisis also are undercut by the sheriff’s own crime data.

The office investigated 18 homicides in 2025, down from 37 in 2024, 38 in 2023, and 39 in 2022. Spokesperson Lt. Amar Gandhi told the Sacramento Bee in January that last year’s figure represents the lowest annual homicide total the office has investigated since the 1980s.

Internal documents also reveal that the Sheriff’s Office structurally relies on keeping a buffer of vacant positions, a practice that generates salary savings used to cover unbudgeted operational costs, including an average of $4.4 million annually over the past three years in payouts to retiring employees.

The Broader County Picture

While the sheriff’s numbers raise questions about how the budget cuts were characterized publicly, the county as a whole is navigating genuine fiscal pressure.

Sacramento County’s proposed $8.9 billion spending plan represents a 2.8% decrease from the prior fiscal year. An ongoing $101 million structural deficit is driven heavily by unfunded mandates and revenue losses tied to the federal legislation known as the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” or HR 1, which accounts for nearly half the shortfall.

To balance the books, the Board of Supervisors directed every county department to identify a 2.5% reduction. “Across the organization, teams took a careful look at their operations, identified opportunities to streamline where possible, and eliminated vacant positions that are no longer needed to sustain current service levels,” County Executive David Villanueva said.

Countywide, general fund reductions total $57 million and eliminate 194.5 full-time-equivalent positions, the vast majority of them already vacant.

This story was originally published in The Observer and is republished here with permission.