DuPage sheriff candidates debate finances

Mike Quiroz vows to do more with less if elected to lead the DuPage County sheriff's office.

But incumbent Sheriff John Zaruba says he already has years of experience guiding the department through lean times.

The two Republicans are butting heads over the budget and overtime spending as Tuesday's GOP primary nears. The winner advances to the November general election.

No Democrat has emerged to run for the office.

In a mass e-mail this week, Quiroz, a former sheriff's deputy, blasted Zaruba's decision to spend nearly $2 million on overtime in 2008.

"Instead of rolling up his sleeves and fixing an apparent manpower problem, the sheriff chose to throw taxpayers' dollars at it," the e-mail reads. "It's time to put an end to the poor fiscal management of our sheriff's office."

On Thursday, Quiroz said he would strive to be "fiscally responsible and accountable."

"We are going to be accountable to the people," he said. "The way Zaruba's spending, he's not being accountable to anyone."

Zaruba said the department was forced to work with less for years until a quarter-percent sales tax increase was enacted in 2008 as part of the state legislature's mass transit bailout package.

The money DuPage received from that tax allowed Zaruba to fill more than 40 deputy positions that were vacant because of budget cuts and a hiring freeze.

Until the new deputies were hired and trained, Zaruba said overtime was a necessary tool to maintain minimum staffing levels at the jail.

He said the money spent on overtime was approved by the DuPage County Board.

"For whatever purposes from their financial end if it, it made good sense," Zaruba said. "From my financial end, it didn't make good sense because we had burnout. I had people who wouldn't take the overtime, and we had to mandate some overtime."

Now that the sheriff's office is back to about 293 sworn personnel, Zaruba said overtime hours have been significantly reduced. One way the department is limiting overtime is by using a 12-hour shift for patrol deputies.

Still, Quiroz said not enough has been done to reduce the department's total budget, which was about $41 million in 2009.

"I would go over the budget line item by line item and find out where all this money is going and why," he said.

Quiroz, who owns two businesses, says he would look for ways to cut costs. He would start by hiring retired police officers to provide security at the courthouse - an idea Zaruba strongly opposes.

In the meantime, Zaruba said he's finding ways to help municipal police departments now that they are having budget problems.

For example, the sheriff's office transports prisoners from police stations to the jail. As a result, municipal officers don't have to leave their towns to move a prisoner.

"We all work hand in hand," Zaruba said. "It's a big matrix of criminal justice."