The Board of Supervisors are looking to increase patrol hours to the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County with a motion on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting.

A $22 million funding boost is intended to allow the county to maintain its service levels in the unincorporated areas, an official with the Sheriff’s Department said Friday.

“That’s the money that’s needed to raise the level of patrol that the county is seeking,” said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department.

County documents noted a $40 million budget reduction the Sheriff’s Department was faced with for the fiscal year 2011-12, due revenue reductions.

Sheriff Lee Baca requested a one-time funding provision in that amount, but was only given $18 million of that amount.

“It’s a boost over what was has been going on because of the budget cuts the Sheriff’s Department had to endure,” Whitmore said. “This reinstates the funding that’s needed to elevate patrols back to where they should be.”

After a recent county audit noted a discrepancy in response time of about one minute between the unincorporated areas of the county and cities that had a contract with the Sheriff’s Department, county supervisors asked the city to address this discrepancy with the Controller’s Office and county CEO William Fujioka.

“It’ll maintain levels that are required by the audit and according to what the audit asked for,” Whitmore said, adding “this is also what (Sheriff Lee Baca) wants.”

Click here for the story on Sheriff’s Department response times.

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