Lea este artículo en español aquí.
In an effort to recruit new sheriff’s deputies and retain those currently serving, San Benito County supervisors on Sept. 1 unanimously approved a new incentive package for the Deputy Sheriff’s Association.
The decision was made at the same meeting in which the supervisors approved responses to the San Benito County Civil Grand Jury report, which raised concerns about Sheriff’s Office staffing levels.
In his response to the civil grand jury report, Sheriff Eric Taylor partially disagreed with the conclusion, saying he has the required minimum operating staff. Taylor did acknowledge the department is challenged to recruit and retain law enforcement officers, and has admitted it could use more staff.
In addition to Taylor’s response, the supervisors also submitted responses saying it “generally agrees” with all of the sheriff’s responses.
The incentive package for deputies, which was approved under the board’s consent agenda without board or public comment, includes a $25,000 bonus for new hires and a provision that allows the county to increase its contribution to fully cover health insurance premiums for certain plans.
The new agreement also allows deputies’ salaries to reflect their length of service at other agencies, and adds a 5% boost to their base salary for night shifts.
The incentive program was proposed by Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki two months after a local group filed signatures to recall him. The recall group’s spokesperson Stacie McGrady has said its supporters aim to recall him because he does not support public safety.
Addressing the grand jury report, Taylor told the supervisors that he has historically agreed with the findings and recommendations, but that wasn’t the case this year.
“I don’t think there was any malintent, I just think it was a little bit confusing when you get into some of these BSCC [Board of State and Community Corrections] reports,” Taylor said,
The February 2026 BSCC report was reviewed by the civil grand jury and, according to the jurors, the state found that correctional officers were not conducting safety checks within an hour after incarcerated people were placed in sobering cells.
In his written response, Taylor said he partially disagreed with the grand jury’s conclusion that his office is experiencing a staffing shortage, and noted that multiple inspections by the BSCC found his office “maintains adequate staffing levels in our correctional facilities.”
The response says the sheriff’s office is staffed “for the minimum operational needs” and that shifts must often be filled with overtime assignments.
Taylor also told the meeting that his office is still unable to open the jail’s second building, the Curtis J. Hill Rehabilitation Center, to house inmates because of the lack of correctional officers. He said other areas of the facility are still in use for booking, medical services and administration.
The Sheriff’s Office partially closed the center in June 2024 because it didn’t have enough correctional officers to operate it. The center was opened in 2021.
Regarding the grand jury recommendation of having at least two correctional officers transport inmates for the safety of all involved, Taylor said he disagreed. The current practice, the grand jury report notes, is for one officer to transport inmates.
Taylor also said the grand jury was wrong in saying his office lacks a policy on transporting incarcerated people.
He said that while it’s desirable to have at least two correctional officers transport inmates, it’s not always reasonable or feasible.
Taylor said officers transport inmates from the jail to the court daily.
“We’ve never denied a second officer for transport,” he said about such requests from correctional officers.
Taylor said when it comes to transporting inmates to or from a prison or having a high-risk inmate, there are always two officers involved in the process. He added that some major cities don’t require two officers for transporting inmates.
He said the grand jury was also wrong that its reception area does not meet the Americans with Disabilities Act standards. He said the building is compliant with the standards that were in place when the facility was built in 2021.
He said though the county is not legally required to update facilities for ADA compliance, his office is looking to address some ADA-related issues because “it’s the right thing to do.”
Taylor also said he disagrees with the grand jury in that correctional officers failed to check on inmates held in sobering cells. He said the cells are sometimes also used to deal with inmates “for their own safety.” He said out of an abundance of caution, some inmates are moved into the sobering cells in situations involving “behavioral health.”
He said officers are required to conduct safety checks on intoxicated people held in the sobering cells within 30 minutes during their stay in that area. If an inmate is held in those cells for another reason, Taylor said officers conduct safety checks within an hour, which he said is the practice followed at other holding cells in the facility.
Taylor noted the state asked his office to abide by the 30-minute check regardless of the reason an inmate is in the sobering cell.
“It’s not really a noncompliant thing, it’s more of a best practice deal that we started doing that,” Taylor said, adding officers are trying to only place people in the sobering cell if they are intoxicated.
The only item in the civil grand jury’s report that Taylor agreed with was in implementing the department’s new radio system.
Taylor discussed the challenges his office has faced in programming the new system, which required installing additional equipment in multiple areas, including the sheriff’s office and the dispatch center. The move will require the sheriff’s radio system to be integrated into the state’s system, which is different from what the deputies currently use.
He told the board his office is in the final stages of testing four radios and that those are already working better than the existing system.
Taylor said he expects to complete the radio project in the next few months. When BenitoLink reported on the new radio system in February, Taylor said he expected the transition to last at least a month.
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.
You must be logged in to post a comment.