Riverside County officials recently announced $35 million in “found” money. This revelation occurred after a difficult budget year when the county executive officer waved his magic budget wand and required across-the-board 10 percent cuts from all county departments, including the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

Those of us who watch our county's leadership closely have to wonder: What did the supervisors know and when did they know it? If the discovery of this surplus was truly unexpected as county officials claimed, this is a troubling revelation. Greater oversight should have occurred, especially during this time of extraordinary fiscal challenges. But, if officials knew about this surplus all along, why did the county's chief financial officer say publicly that finding $35 million was a “surprise” and why did they force 10 percent cuts?

Why are supervisors ready to spend this?

Finding $35 million isn't like putting your hand in your jeans pocket and pulling out a crumpled $20 bill. This “discovery” represents serious money. So now, what should be done with the $35 million? The Board of Supervisors indicated that the funds will be spent on social programs, facilities and a new property tax system and used to bolster the county's budget reserves. At the Oct. 6 Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Bob Buster said that the money should be “dyed a different color” so it looks different and is not spent on ongoing costs. Supervisor Buster's bizarre comment aside, why are we looking at spending this surplus at all?

Prosecutorial power has been eroded this year

Lean budget times this year forced cuts across all county departments, including the district attorney's office, with unpaid furlough days and reductions in benefits. These cuts in resources — especially the mandatory reductions in work hours — hurt the ability of 270 deputy district attorneys to prosecute the county's most violent criminals and predators.

Despite having $35 million in “found money,” Riverside County's budget woes are far from over. Our county dipped into $50 million of its reserve funds this year to balance the budget. The fact that we had to break open the piggy bank to pay our bills means that we should dedicate any and all surplus funds to our budget reserves as “down payment” against what will likely be an even more challenging budget situation next year. This situation reminds me of the fable of the grasshopper and the ant — while the grasshopper sang all summer long, the ant was busy storing food for the winter. Guess who went hungry when winter came around?

It's time to exercise some fiscal discipline

The deputy district attorneys I represent, the hard-working members of the Riverside County Deputy District Attorneys Association, are already stretched thin. The prospect of deputy district attorneys facing additional furlough days, further benefit cuts or even layoffs next year, all because county officials might decide not to put the entire $35 million straight into our budget reserves, is frightening. The time for replenishing our budget reserves — and exercising fiscal discipline — is now.

While I'm thankful the “surprise” was finding extra money rather than discovering hidden costs necessitating more cuts this year, Riverside County residents deserve a full explanation as to how officials “found” $35 million. The Board of Supervisors would be wise to follow the ant's example and “store” $35 million for next year to minimize future cuts and to ensure that essential county services — public safety being priority No. 1 — are not irreparably harmed.

Michael Hestrin is president of the Riverside County Deputy District Attorneys Association and has served as a deputy district attorney for 12 years. He was recently named State Prosecutor of the Year by the California District Attorney Investigators' Association. E-mail him at rcddaa@gmail.com