Lodi Measure S recount halted

Lodi Fire Capt. Shane Langone and the Lodi Professional Firefighters Union have ended their Measure S recount efforts after only one day.

The recount was requested after the local sales tax measure, which would have funded additional staffing and training for the city’s police and fire departments, was narrowly defeated on Election Day. The measure, which needed two-thirds majority to pass, was supported by 66.61 percent of the voters (17,339 yes, 9,895 no), falling 13 yes votes short of passage.

“We were getting numbers throughout the day from the registrar’s office and it was going up and down, but by the end of the day, everything was pretty much status quo, meaning that the numbers were matching their numbers right on,” Langone said. “We were kind of hoping with a hand count of the absentee ballots we would’ve gained some, but we were status quo, so the board decided to cease the operation. It’s a financial decision also.”

The recount, conducted by the San Joaquin Registrar of Voters on Monday, cost approximately $2,000 a day. The process could have taken up to seven days in total, with a potential cost of about $14,000.

Langone said that while their efforts were unsuccessful, it was worth the effort.

“We’re talking about 13 votes from having this thing pass. It wasn’t like it was 500. That means if 13 more people would’ve voted yes, this would’ve passed. Now unfortunately, come the next fiscal year, we are not going to have an Engine One. It will sit here idle in our fire house, and (the Lodi Police Department) is not going to have eight more officers.”

He said not having the engine and the new officers could affect the services provided to citizens.

“It’s going to hurt. It’s going to hurt not only us, but (the Lodi Police Department) also,” Langone said.

He hopes the measure will be back on the ballot in 2018.

Fire Chief Larry Rooney was very disappointed to hear that the recount was not successful, and agreed that the department would see some setbacks due to the measure’s failure.

“We’re going to have to take a look at that and regroup in the department and see how we can deliver the service the best we can with what we’ve got, and that’s what the fire service does,” Rooney said.

While having Engine One browned out is a major inconvenience for the department, Rooney said not having the adequate funding for training is the biggest loss the fire department faces.

“Every position in this department takes specialized training to do. It takes money to get people trained correctly and make sure everybody’s ready for their position,” he said.

He said funding may have to be cut from other areas to fulfill their training needs.

Even though the measure didn’t pass, Rooney finds comfort in knowing that a majority of Lodi’s citizens were in support of public safety.

“I’m also disappointed that its not going to go through because providing the service and the coverage for the city is going to be more difficult now,” Rooney said.