Prim plans to cut expenses at MCSD

Bill Prim, Republican Party candidate for Sheriff of McHenry County in the March 2014 Primary, announced that, when elected in November 2014, he expects to cut expenses at the McHenry County Sheriff's Department. The following is his press release:

BILL PRIM CITES 35% INCREASE IN SHERIFF’S BUDGET;

VOWS CUTS IN ADMINISTRATIVE OVERHEAD

Republican candidate for Sheriff Bill Prim Tuesday questioned the reasons for a ballooning Sheriff’s Office budget over recent years and vowed to make cuts in top administrative personnel immediately upon taking office.

            The cuts would not impact police services and would in fact make way for an uptick in the number of deputies on the street, Prim said.

Prim noted that the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office budget has increased more than 35% over the past five years, by far the largest amount (in dollars) of any county department.  “Do taxpayers notice more than $8 million in improved service over five years ago?” Prim asked.  “I doubt it.  What they do notice is their increased property tax bills.”

            The Sheriff’s Office spent $24,540,322 in fiscal year 2008.  By fiscal year 2012, that annual amount had ballooned to $33,188,495, an increase of $8.6 million, more than 35%.  Over the same period, the number of full-time employees jumped from 394 to 407.

            “Inflation is under control, other county departments have not only failed to rise over that same time period, but 10 of them have actually gone down, and yet year after year the Sheriff’s administration comes to the taxpayers for more of their hard-earned dollars,” Prim said.  “It’s time we dialed the spending machine way down, and a good place to start is at the top.”

            Administrative activity currently associated with CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies), and with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), either is unnecessary and wasteful or could be better handled elsewhere in county government, for instance.

            “Eliminating top-level administration for these two items alone could save the county more than $200,000 per year in salary, benefits and ancillary costs,” Prim said.

            Prim said there were other ways his administration would save taxpayers money that would not be strictly within the Sheriff’s Office budget.  “Over and above office efficiency, I would not be throwing taxpayer dollars out the window in fruitless efforts to settle scores with individual deputies or staging public, lawyer-intensive feuds with other county office holders,” Prim said.

“That would not only save money, but plenty of time and needless aggravation.”

Finally, Prim has consistently said he would massively increase asset forfeiture actions against convicted criminals.  By that is meant confiscating the cash, luxury cars and homes of full-time drug dealers and using the proceeds to fund law enforcement.

            “In my career, I have been directly or indirectly responsible for $20 million in cash and goods diverted from the pockets of major criminals and placed into service to the taxpayers,” Prim said.  “It’s not that difficult, and I don’t know why McHenry doesn’t do it.  But it will definitely take off under my administration.”

For more information about Bill's campaign, visit www.primforsheriff.org