After months of rocky hearings, the Board of Supervisors formally approved this week Sheriff Bill Brown’s long-sought-after new North County jail project but said “no thanks” to the treatment and reentry complex he was particularly enthusiastic about.
While receiving the stamp of approval for a 376-bed facility qualifies as a “win” for Brown, the subtext is that his relationship with the supervisors has become confrontational in recent months. On Tuesday, the board — excluding Supervisor Steve Lavagnino — could not muster enough trust in the Sheriff’s grand proposal for the 228-bed Sheriff’s Transition and Reentry (STAR) wing.
After the vote, Brown called the decision “deeply disappointing.” “As a county we have taken a giant step backward in terms of public safety and community corrections,” he said.