MOLINA LOOKS TO SHERIFF'S BUDGET TO PAY LEGAL BILLS.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

With Sheriff's Department legal bills 76 percent over budget this fiscal year, Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina said Tuesday that she plans to ask the sheriff to pick up the tab out of his own $1.8 billion requested budget.

That means when Sheriff Lee Baca goes before the Board of Supervisors during budget deliberations Monday he might have to eliminate his requests for $2.1 million for special law enforcement equipment, $3.4 million for a computer database program, an extra $1 million for the Antelope Valley gang enforcement team and $398,000 for deputy leadership training.

``The Sheriff's Department is continually going over budget on these settlements,'' Molina said. ``I think the only way they are going to feel the pain of their wrongdoing is to see it cut out of their budget.''

A report by Chief Administrative Officer David Janssen released Tuesday found that the Sheriff's Department is projected in fiscal 2000-01 to spend $12.6 million for legal settlements and court judgments and $9.7 million for outside counsel and other fees, totaling $22.3 million, which is $9.6 million over budget, or 76 percent.

One of the biggest expenses in 2000-01 was $7.4 million in expenses connected to a 1981 sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former Deputy Susan Bouman Paolino. The case resulted in a consent decree ordering promotions of women within the department's ranks. While Bouman received $200,000, the county has spent $26 million on the case, mostly in legal expenses.

For fiscal year 1999-00, the Sheriff's Department spent $13.9 million for legal settlements and court judgments and $7.6 million for outside counsel and other fees, totaling $21.5 million, which was $7.3 million over budget, or 51 percent.

Instead of taking the money out of the general fund and having to cut health or other county services, Molina said she wants the sheriff to pay for the expenses out of his budget.

``Right now, we have a pending strip search, overdetention class-action lawsuit for $27 million taxpayers are going to pay because the Sheriff's Department doesn't release people when they are supposed to,'' Molina said.

``We have another claim for a little less than $1 million for an officer who had 15 complaints against him and yet there has never been any discipline by the sheriff.''

Baca said some of the settlements and judgments are from prior years and that usually legal expenses are separate from the sheriff's operating budget.

``The public services that Supervisor Molina is entertaining to cut are too vital to the entire departmental budget process,'' Baca said. ``I would ask she reconsider her idea.''

Undersheriff Bill Stonich said Baca has implemented a number of programs to reduce legal liabilities, including the Office of Independent Review to oversee internal investigations.

``In general, there are a number of things Sheriff Baca has implemented to develop the kind of change in this organization that are sorely needed,'' Stonich said. ``One of these things Supervisor Molina has indicated she wants the sheriff to remove from his budget request is the Deputy Leadership Institute.

``The kind of training given in the leadership institute is just the kind of thing that will offset behaviors that sometimes cause us to be subject to this kind of litigation.''

Venice attorney Stephen Yagman, who handles lawsuits against the Sheriff's Department, said the expenses derive from the department and Board of Supervisors hiring expensive outside legal counsel to handle the cases.