Republished by bexarpolice.org

Article from News 29 San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO – The Bexar County Commissioners voted Monday to approve the budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year.

As part of the move, a total of 15 constable positions will be eliminated: Five constable positions will be cut from Precinct 2, six from Precinct 3 and four from Precinct 4.

County Commissioners agreed that those 15 constable positions would be funded for the next 6 months, unless they become vacant before then

“Instead of spreading law enforcement dollars across 5 law enforcement organizations, we should focus those on the sheriff’s office which we have,” said Precinct 3 Commissioner Kevin Wolff.

Precinct 3 commissioner Kevin Wolff says he wants county constables to strictly do what they are constitutionally mandated to.

“We have to fund constables to serve papers and do bailiff duties for JP’s. We have to fund the sheriff’s office for law enforcement activities, that doesn’t limit them from doing things outside of that,” said Commissioner Wolff.

In the memorandum agreed on by commissioners Monday, it says that in precinct 2, 5 deputy constable positions will be eliminated, 6 constables in precinct 3 and 4 in precinct 4.

“We get called precisely because agencies like the Bexar county sheriff’s office or SAPD both of them that are fine organizations, but they aren’t able to cover the work load and they call us for that protection and we take in and we fill that gap,” said Precinct 3 Constable Mark Vojvodich.

But Wolff says they will be adding two BCSO substations. One will be located on the county’s far north side in his precinct. He says over the next two years, this reduction in force will save tax payers 1.4 million dollars.

“If you are going to spend dollars on law enforcement activities and you have a choice between spending that on 5 different entities with different types of administration or spend it on one where you can focus the power of your dollar, I think that is a much better service to the tax payer,” said Wolff.

Vojvodich says the taxpayers will be paying more in overtime. We reached out to precincts 2 and 4 constables and did not hear back. Vojvodich says all constable precincts are joining together in the fight to postpone elimination of these positions.