Sheriff helicopter repair and cyber security are spending items for Stanislaus County

A Stanislaus County government refreshed by a surge in revenue upped appropriations by $19 million in midyear budget adjustments this month.

In one of the spending items, county officials will take action to improve cyber security after a ransomware attack in December disabled hundreds of computers in county Behavioral Health and Recovery Services. County leaders had recognized the need for the security position last May and planned to include it in next year’s budget, but now there's no time to waste in beefing up security.

The security officer will implement 13 recommendations for safeguarding computers and software in county departments, a staff member said.

Last week, county supervisors also approved additional expense items for the Sheriff's Department, coroner's office and social services. The items included:

• A $270,000 increase for additional repairs to a sheriff's helicopter that was damaged in a hard landing at Modesto Airport on July 30, 2016. When the Bell Long Ranger helicopter was disassembled in the shop, mechanics found additional repairs were needed to certify the aircraft for flight. In addition, a search light was omitted from the repairs and improvements approved by county supervisors a year ago and $11,124 in sales tax is owed for a navigation system. The extra costs push the total for repairs and improvements to the helicopter to $1,127,111. Insurance covered $257,000 in accident repair costs.

• A $151,000 increase to pay four months of salary for a second forensic pathologist to perform autopsies in the Sheriff-Coroner's office. Another pathologist is needed because of an increase in cases and to perform autopsies for Tuolumne County, which is paying $62,800 to Stanislaus County for the service. The Sheriff-Coroner's office is exploring agreements with other counties to offset costs for the new pathologist in the next fiscal year.

• An environmental cleanup at the former law enforcement gun range at Laird Park near Grayson that could cost between $1 million and $1.8 million. The county and state Department of Toxic Substances Control have worked on an analysis for removing lead casings and shells in the soil, which are considered an environmental risk. No funding source for the cleanup has been identified.

• The Community Services Agency will add two social workers to work with adult clients of the Public Defender's office. County Public Works also needs a senior civil engineer to handle the larger workload created by the Measure L road tax and the state fuel-tax increase.

The increase in appropriations in various county departments lifts the total budget to $1.32 billion this year and is mostly covered by $18.7 million in increased revenue. The county will add five staff positions, pushing its workforce to 4,474 authorized positions. The county budget year runs from July 1 to June 30.

This story was originally published March 15, 2018 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Sheriff helicopter repair and cyber security are spending items for Stanislaus County."