ECONOMIES SOUGHT TO KEEP EAST VALLEY JAIL OPEN.

Byline: Grace Lee Staff Writer

Cuts in operating hours, more civilian staff and a system allowing some suspects to post bail in Simi Valley are among options Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks said Thursday he would review to delay closing the East County Jail on Aug. 17.

Brooks and county Supervisors Linda Parks and Judy Mikels had met with city officials from Thousand Oaks and Moorpark on Wednesday to discuss alternatives to closing the booking facility in Thousand Oaks.

``We've never had the urgency to work out all the details of (other options) before. ... We certainly prefer not to close it at all,'' Brooks said. ``We believe in its function out there.''

Brooks announced last week that the booking facility probably would be closed to help plug a $10 million budget gap in his department.

Closing the jail would force deputies to drive to Ventura - a two-hour round trip - to book suspects, taking them away from patrol duty.

Some 250 to 300 suspects are booked into the East County Jail monthly. An average of 2,400 are booked each month at the main jail in Ventura.

``I'm optimistic that a plan will be developed to keep the facility open at least in the short term until some long-term strategy can be developed,'' said Moorpark Mayor Pat Hunter. Parks said Thursday that she was more hopeful about keeping the jail open, and another meeting with Brooks is planned.

Brooks said that cutting the hours of operation and setting up a system allowing suspects to post bail from Simi Valley, not just from Ventura, could keep more deputies in the eastern part of the county instead of on the road to and from Ventura, the county seat.

Parks said staffing the East County Jail with sheriff's technicians, not deputies, could also cut costs and keep the jail open.

Brooks said that all the alternatives, however, would still cost more than closing the jail, which costs $800,000 annually to run.

Grace Lee, [phone]

grace.lee(at)dailynews.com