“Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby wants to bar the Sheriff’s Department from handling security in the Hall of Administration after an investigator used a security camera to zoom in on Norby’s notes and a colleague’s BlackBerry messages during a board meeting,” according to the L.A. Times.
“On Tuesday, in a messy legislative blitz, supervisors came out of a lengthy closed session and began amending their board rules to deal with the issue. In the end, they adopted rules that stipulate only the chairperson of the board of supervisors has the power to implement and approve heightened security measures. Any attempt by the sheriff to beef up security, such as on Jan. 13, would now have to be approved by the chairperson of the board of supervisors. The new rules also stipulated that all security camera recordings are the property of the board,” according to the O.C. Register.
In short, the Supervisors told Sheriff Sandra Hutchens to take a hike! If she won’t play by their rules, then she won’t handle security at the Board of Supervisors meetings.
Hutchens is sinking fast. Will she ever get a clue?
If this battle between the Board and Sheriff heats up the Board can strip her of a lot of things the Board previously assigned/gave Sheriff Brad Gates, including: John Wayne Airport security, Harbor Patrol, Emergency Preparedenss/Emergency Operations Center, and more. This could get interesting.