DuPage sheriff's candidates want to work with county board

Past budget battles have strained the relationship between DuPage Sheriff John Zaruba and the county board that allocates funding for his department.

Both sheriff candidates in the March Republican primary say they would try to repair that relationship if they're elected in November by working more closely with the county board during the budget process.

"I have talked to many of the county board members and Chairman (Dan) Cronin about my budget solutions," said James Mendrick, who is a patrol commander for the department. "They're on board with how I would budget. I think it would take a lot of pressure off the relationship that we now have with the county board."

Mendrick and another supervisor with the department - Undersheriff Frank Bibbiano - are in a race to decide who will get the GOP nomination for the post held by Zaruba, who is retiring at the end of the year. The primary winner will face Democrat Gregory Whalen during the fall election.

During a recent endorsement interview with the Daily Herald, Bibbiano acknowledged that budgetary issues have been a source of conflict between Zaruba and the county board.

"The relationship with the county board is tense," Bibbiano said. "But I believe that through transparency and through good communication, that could be overcome."

Bibbiano said Zaruba opposed budget cuts because the department needs a certain amount of money to meet its statutory duties.

"He was fighting to keep services for the sheriff's office to keep people safe on the street, in the jail and in the courthouse," Bibbiano said.

He said the department is still working to reduce its sworn head count to 392 positions after the county board approved a spending plan for the current fiscal year that eliminated 16 full-time deputy positions.

"We're trying to get to the county's number through attrition," he said.

County officials say the head count reduction was necessary because of the loss of more than $3 million in revenue from the state. Meanwhile, Cronin says he's been unable to explore cost-saving ideas with Zaruba.

Mendrick says he already has several proposals to improve the budget. One of those calls for nonviolent jail inmates with mental health issues to be treated at private facilities.

"Treating them in the jail environment is very expensive," he said.

In addition, Mendrick said the sheriff's office could save money by joining municipal police departments to make equipment purchases. He also wants the sheriff's office to get more drug-detection dogs to assist municipal police departments.

"Every time we get a drug seizure, it takes dope off the streets and we get part of the seizure money," Mendrick said.

Bibbiano supports a plan that could save DuPage money on courthouse security.

The county currently uses full-time, sworn sheriff's deputies for almost every court security position. But under a proposal being reviewed by the deputies' union, some lower-paid court security officers would be used at the main courthouse in Wheaton.