Supervisor Speier questions San Mateo County Sheriff Office spending 

Usually department heads are ready to answer questions should supervisors have them, even if the relevant items are on the consent agenda, but Sheriff Christina Corpus was not available. Undersheriff Dan Perea stepped in to answer questions, with the limited knowledge he had on the matter. 

“Moving forward, please alert her that if she has an item on the agenda that she should be prepared to come to the board meeting if it is on consent because it could be taken off consent,” Speier said to Perea. “As all the other department heads do, they are prepared to address us with our questions. The fact that she is unavailable is disappointing.”

Corpus has scarcely made an appearance in the board’s chambers, and when she has in the past it has related to the ongoing investigation into her office and executive team. 

The office has already procured the equipment, and the request to transfer the appropriated funds is a routine action the county typically approves on consent. 

“It has been historically the case that departments do have the authority to make purchases sometimes through the procurement department without coming to the board,” County Attorney John Nibbelin said. 

Speier acknowledged this, but added she is looking generally to bring forward a resolution at a future date seeking more oversight from the Board of Supervisors over department expenditures. In particular, she raised concern over how the Sheriff’s Office is looking to spend its budget. 

“I’m a little concerned about the procurement process within your department,” Speier said to Perea. 

Ten massage chairs were requested through procurement by the Sheriff’s Office, Speier said, that were ultimately denied by the procurement office. When asked for their purpose, Perea said he was not involved in the request process. 

“I don’t think I’m the best person to speak about the entire process and the thinking behind that,” Perea said. “It’s part of officer wellness, was part of the thought, as I understand it.”

The Sheriff’s Office has, in fact, purchased two massage chairs for employees, using funds dedicated to wellness, Gretchen Spiker, communications director for the Sheriff’s Office, said in a statement. 

“The Sheriff’s Office has been investing in initiatives to support the well-being of our employees who work long hours protecting and serving our community,” Spiker wrote in a statement. “At this time, the Sheriff’s Office does not intend to purchase additional massage chairs. 

Speier requested the Sheriff’s Office, and Corpus specifically, return to report back on its procurement policies and processes at a future date, for which Supervisor Ray Mueller declared support. Mueller said he wanted more information on a $74,000 conference table that Corpus authorized, as reported by the Palo Alto Daily Post in January. 

“It’d be helpful to hear from the sheriff herself,” Speier said. 

In March, 84% of voters agreed to give the Board of Supervisors the temporary powers to remove Corpus from office after a monthslong investigation found evidence of corruption, misconduct and an inappropriate personal relationship between Corpus and her chief of staff. The board is now determining the best path to do that, and Nibbelin gave a brief update on the process at Tuesday’s meeting. 

“We are working with all due diligence and speed, as the board has suggested that we should do, but also with an eye toward making sure that we have due process,”  Nibbelin said. “Our anticipation is to be back to the board at a future meeting in the near future.”