"I would like to continue to serve this community. I feel I have proven myself to be a strong leader and a good Sheriff."
Kuntz began his law enforcement career with the Calaveras County Sheriff Department in 1985 as a reserve and was quickly hired as an extra hire correctional officer. By 1986 he became a full time officer. Recruited by Lodi in the early '90's, Kuntz passed on the offer, "I like to work where I live." In 2009 Kuntz retired as a Lieutenant and ran for Sheriff the following year.
When Kuntz first became Sheriff "the budget crunch has just hit and we had lost 14 deputies and support staff due to budget cuts and they were asking for another 10% cut. Working outside of the box we were able to stop the bleeding." To date Kuntz has been able to replace 8 of the cut positions, most recently the "partially new board gave back three deputy positions" in a 4-1 vote with Callaway the only 'no' vote.
On the budget:
"One of the first things I did when I took office was remove the office of under-sheriff. By not having an under sheriff I can have three deputies on the street." Most recently Kuntz hired a firm that writes grants, "we need officers on the street not writing grants." The firm charges a minimal fee per grant awarded and no fee for grants not awarded, "its a win, win situation." Kuntz also states that he is the co-founder of the Friends of the Calaveras County Sheriffs, a group whose fundraisers have raised funds for a soon to be implemented K-9 drug program and new CSI equipment. He did not, however, mince his words when he stated, "If there are funds specifically designated for law enforcement we are going to take them." Referring to some earlier confusion on AB109 funds and distribution.
Youth outreach:
According to Kuntz most members of his department are active in the youth community personally from coaching pop-warner football and wrestling to coaching swimming and track. Kuntz, fulfilling one of his campaign promises, has visited all the schools in the county along with Superintendent Kathy Northington to reach out to children by reading stories, answering questions, or just by creating an approachable presence on campus. As a department "the community oriented policing program has officers checking with schools, walking campuses. I would like to enhance that program .... implement school resource officers." The department also has multiple resident deputies, deputies who live where they work. Kuntz would like to see the Explorer program revived in more communities and applauds the ROP program at Calaveras High School.
Bailiff issue:
With the new courthouse requiring additional security measures, Kuntz understood the original AOC (administrators of courts) plans had included 9 bailiffs for the courts, "one bailiff in each courtroom, two at the front, one in the control room, one to transport from the jail to the court and one upstairs." There is not enough funding for this at the time. "Due to current talks I cannot comment, this however, is a problem for every county building new courts."
New jail:
The new jail, when complete will have 160 beds. "I am looking into renting bed space to Amador and Tulumne Counties and considering Federal females prisoners. I do not want to rent it all out, we need spaces for our own criminals." With the influx of AB109 prisoners, many jails are seeing inmates stays extended for up to four years, which makes bed space a premium.
Recently the BOS (Board of Supervisors) allotted funds for extra booking staff for the jail.
Kuntz and his staff are currently working on a 5, 10, 15 and 20 year staffing plan for the jail.
Concealed carry permits:
"I 100% support it if an applicant fits all the criteria by law. When I took office there were approximately 450 CCW permits, we are up to almost 1000. I want that number to grow. With the low number of deputies and the large areas of coverage I want CCW citizens to be able to defend themselves." He also pointed out the growing number of women applying and he hopes for more.
In his final statement Kuntz said, "We have utilized our funding well... deputies, correctional staff, and support staff have all gone above the call of duty, I am very proud of them."
by,
Charity Maness
updated: 2-6-14
