By Michael G. Stogner

County board to vote on censuring sheriff

By MONTEREY HERALD | PUBLISHED: May 22, 2021 at 11:02 a.m. | UPDATED: May 22, 2021 at 2:49 p.m.

SALINAS — The Monterey County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to censure Sheriff Steve Bernal for allowing inappropriate expenditures of county funds in 2019.

The expenditures occurred when the County Sheriff’s Office hosted the California State Sheriff’s Association annual convention in 2019 according to an investigation by the County District Attorney’s Office. Although the investigation determined that no criminal charges should be filed, some Supervisors expressed concern over the matter.

“I pushed for transparency of this report because the public has a right to know how their taxpayer dollars were blatantly misused,” Supervisor Luis Alejo tweeted in reaction to a story by the Monterey County Weekly.

The Board of Supervisors meet Tuesday at 9 a.m. The meeting is open to the public but because of COVID-19 regulations, it is recommended the public attend virtually through the zoom video platform at https://montereycty.zoom.us/j/224397747. The meeting can also be seen via live streaming on Facebook and YouTube. For more options visit https://www.co.monterey.ca.us/