The Riverside County Sheriff's Department sought double-digit pay raises for top managers even though the County faces a $130 million budget crisis that puts public services for children, families and the elderly at risk.

The Sheriff's decision to dole out big raises, follows a grand jury investigation that concluded nearly $500,000 went toward an unnecessary executive division in the Office of District Attorney Rod Pacheco.

The grand jury panel concluded that Pacheco's executive division handled work previously done by existing staff and should be cut to save money at a time when the county is struggling to overcome a $130 million budget deficit.

SEIU 721 member Joe Weisenberger questioned the logic behind across the board cuts to county workers when misspent funds are being brought to light.
"They keep talking about how management is making cuts and we should, too, but double-digit raises are not a cut," he said. "And they aren't cuts if they are not across the board."

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