Portsmouth Sheriff cuts city services

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - Portsmouth's City Council is eyeing pay raises for the police and fire departments. Sheriff Bill Watson says his 200-plus deputies deserve the same. Now he's taken the drastic step of curtailing services his deputies provide to the city, in hopes of getting them pay hikes.

Watson feels his request is disrespected by city leaders at a time when he's already expecting a drop in city and state funding. Watson tells WAVY.com deputies are overdue for a pay raise. So he's put the brakes on some services until the city provides his office with a certain amount of money

Deputies oversee the work of inmate crews in the community. That's ending along with other services to the city, like putting boots on cars, washing city vehicles and using inmates on trash trucks. Deputies are state employees, but receive money from the city to round out their salaries.

"Total of about 875-thousand dollars. They just allocated 2.3 million dollars for police and fire which is great and I'm not going to do a thing to hurt the police and fire department. That would never happen, but my people have to eat too," Watson told WAVY.com

Watson told city leaders of his plans last month. "I have cut. I told them I was going to do it. I gave them fair warning. It was not a bluff. I gave them fair warning and they were oblivious to it. They didn't think I was going to do it. Now they're scrambling around."

WAVY News 10's Ava Hurdle spent the day tracking down Portsmouth city leaders to get their reaction. She spoke with a couple council members over the phone. They told her they learned about the shefiff's plans during the holiday break. But they won't begin discussing the new city budget until an upcoming work session on Saturday.

Watson continued, "These are human beings. They need to support their families. They have house payments, car payments, kids are going to school. They have to survive like everybody else. Why they think the sheriff's office is beneath them, I don't know, but we're supposed to be part of the Portsmouth family, treat us like the Portsmouth family"

The sheriff says all he wanted was city leaders to sit down and talk with him, but that didn't happen. He hopes city council will comply with his wish to pay deputies more.

The city has an option. It can contract out services now provided by the sheriff's office. The city council has until May to approve its operating budget which takes effect July 1.

Related Link:

Portsmouth Sheriff's Office Web site