Thursday, July 2, 2020

Villanueva Says Altadena Sheriff’s Station Will Remain Open — Again

Department faces layoffs due to budget cuts

By DONOVAN MCCRAY

Sheriff Alex Villanueva

Although many thought the issue had been resolved at least a month ago, Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced on Wednesday that the Altadena Sheriff’s Station will remain open.

“Although my department is suffering devastating budget cuts from the Board of Supervisors, I will not be closing Altadena and Marina Del Rey stations,” Villanueva wrote on Twitter.

On Monday, the Board of Supervisors approved a $34.9 billion revised budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year, which includes 655 potential layoffs, roughly 70 percent of which will impact sheriff’s jail operations.

Villanueva has pushed back on the proposed cuts.

Villanueva drew the ire of residents across the region after he announced that the Altadena and Marina Del Rey stations would be closed in July.

Later, Assemblyman Chris Holden said that Villanueva had backed away from closing the station.

Under the plan, deputies reportedly would have continued continue to report there to put on their gear and access their radio cars before patrolling the area.

Urgency over the situation grew when Villanueva was a no-show at a Civilian Oversight Commission meeting. That body responded by issuing a subpoena to compel the first-term Sheriff to appear at its next meeting.

The embattled Sheriff has been feuding with the LA County Board of Supervisors. Villanueva has not appeared at three consecutive meetings.

According Barger, who represents Altadena, the supervisors were not consulted on Sheriff Villanueva’s decision and were not provided with details of his proposed cuts. He noted that the budget of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department totals $3.5 billion.