San Diego County declines to endorse Proposition 36 after staff warns of multi‑million dollar impacts

County staff told the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 9 that a state ballot measure known as Proposition 36 could reduce funding for local programs paid from savings generated by Proposition 47 and would increase county criminal‑justice costs by tens of millions of dollars annually.

The board received a cross‑departmental analysis from Health & Human Services staff and public‑safety officials that projected increased workload and costs across the sheriff’s office, district attorney, public defender and probation if Prop 36 passes. “Our public safety departments … estimate an initial minimum cost of approximately $58,000,000 annually for increased staffing,” Andrew Strong, deputy chief administrative officer for public safety, told the board. He said the sheriff’s office estimates 5,000 to 8,000 additional arrests and bookings annually and would need about 230 additional positions at a cost the presentation lists as roughly…