BEND, OR -- The purchase of a fleet of golf carts has taken center stage in the campaign for Deschutes County Sheriff.
Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp talked with the Redmond Kiwanis earlier this month about what he considers runaway spending, "Golf carts have been a hot topic at my office for the last six months. I don’t have an explanation as to what we’re doing with five golf carts." He went on to say, "I know that we use one at the fair. All five of them are now sitting in a container in a lot somewhere. I don’t know why we bought those." Answering questions about the agency's budget, he told the group, "You turn around and buy five golf carts and slurpee machine with taxpayer money, I can’t justify - I can’t explain that. The big thing is going to be getting our spending back in line. We need to stop spending because we see shiny things." Click HERE to watch Vander Kamp's full presentation.
Captain William Bailey tells KBND News he didn’t order the golf carts, but believes they’re a reasonable investment for the agency now in charge of security at the fairgrounds, "The fair is growing; the fairgrounds and the use of the fair is growing. Not only do we have the fair, we have the music festival this past summer. There was another festival that was there this last summer. It’s getting bigger. They’re going to be adding more events, more people."
DCSO borrowed two golf carts its first year of fair security, in 2022. But Bailey says they didn’t work very well, so the agency bought two of its own for ‘23. "Having a tool to get around in 100-degree heat with a little bit of sunbreak. It was important to give the deputies the tools they needed. And the deputies were very appreciative that they had those tools to patrol the fairgrounds." He says they've since been used at the Sisters Quilt Show and La Pine Frontier Days.
Three more are on their way to expand the fleet for 2024, due to the growing fairgrounds and increased number of events, according to Bailey. All five were purchased used by the Automotive section, which Bailey does not oversee; he says he did not have any involvement in securing the fleet. The cost of the second batch of three carts is about half the cost of the first two and Bailey hopes the retrofitting for deputy-use will also be less expensive. He says those final three have not yet been delivered.
Sgt. Vander Kamp also took issue with an industrial slushie machine, which Bailey says is used at local events and to reward student achievement, "The most requested reward is slushies with the deputy sheriffs. And that’s awesome. That’s what we should want from our law enforcement. We should want them engaged and connected with the community." As Captain of the Patrol Division, Bailey says he approved that purchase after another deputy proposed the idea as a way to engage with the community. "It’s unfortunate that a slushie machine and a golf cart has become the center of an election for Sheriff," says Bailey, "But in some point, I respect that the community has questions about the tools that we’re utilizing to do our job because it is their money that we’re spending."
Both candidates take part in their first joint forum Monday, in Sunriver.
Image: (left) Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp speaks to the Redmond Kiwanis Club on Feb. 7, 2024. (right) Capt. William Bailey on patrol during the 2023 Deschutes County Fair, courtesy DCSO's Instagram.
