Story #2

               Recent budget concerns have led to a dispute at a Wright county meeting, on Thursday afternoon, between Sheriff Gus DiCesari who feels that the police department is being “shortchanged” by the county commissioners and not providing them with the funds they need for new cars and personal and Commission President Anne Chen who feels that DiCesari is wrong.
 
             
                A 5-2 vote has left the police department without the funds that Sheriff DiCesari claims they desperately need for eight new police cruisers and five new police deputies. The new cruisers are to replace older cruisers that have more than 150,000 miles on them and require constant upkeep and repairs to stay functional.  DiCesari went as far as saying “You’re putting the lives of the people of this county in jeopardy”.  The sheriff claims that this the first time in 27 years that the county has not given money to the police department to allow they buy new equipment. DiCesari’s views are supported by Commissioners Anita Shenuski and Raymond Laybourne who want the money that is spent on the county’s migrate workers to be shifted to the police department.

                On the other side of the debate is Commission President Anne Chen along with Commission members Valerie Dawkins, Faith Ellis, Jose Gardoz and Roland Grauman. They’re arguments have largely been defending migrate workers who DiCesari’s supporters say are a burden to law enforcement, school and healthcare.  Chen said that the workers are “decent, hardworking people being employed at jobs that local residents won’t do”, that they contribute greatly to the local economy and many stay and live productive lives in the county.  The commissioners estimate that there around 5,000 migrate families working in agricultural, construction and service jobs around the county.

                The $127 million budget is largely being spent on rising health and gas prices which has left less and less for the county to spend on other services. The country also recently built a new $30 million prison to handle overflow. Chenn has told DiCesari that there is just not enough left to give an additional $580,000 to the police. Chen suggested some ways for the police to save money such as officers not driving police vehicles home to them available and to keep mileage down to which DiCesari argued that officers driving home in their cars was a determent to crime.