Sheriff questioned about $600,000 TV, $74,000 conference room table – Palo Alto Daily Post

This article appeared in the June 25 print edition of the Daily Post. Want to read the news first when it’s fresh? Pick up a copy at over 1,000 locations on the Mid-Peninsula.

BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZDaily Post Staff Writer

On the same day the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted to fire Sheriff Christina Corpus, they asked her why she wanted buy a $600,000 TV, 10 massage chairs that cost $6,670 a piece and a $74,000 conference room table.

Supervisor Jackie Speier asked Corpus if she viewed the request for the massage chairs as excessive.

Corpus claimed she didn’t know about the request. She said it was made by a sheriff’s “wellness committee” and was pushed forward by an HR employee.

“It was something that was requested by the employees. I did not see that request because I would not have approved it,” Corpus said.

The county’s procurement office declined the purchase request, and Corpus’ office ended up buying two of the cushy massage chairs.

Corpus could be without a job in 60 days, but she still put on a brave face at Tuesdays hearing. She said the Sheriff’s Office is working on a new system for purchase requests. She said she or Undersheriff Dan Perea will review each request from now on.

Speier also questioned a purchase request for a $600,000 TV for the headquarters conference room. “Why would you need a $600,000 TV?” Speier said.

Corpus said that she did not move forward with the purchase after Speier asked questions about it. She said the Sheriff’s Office is is trying to save money, so she decided the TV wasn’t necessary.

Supervisor David Canepa brought up the $74,000 conference room table she purchased in January. He wasn’t sure if it was true that she had bought the conference table.

Corpus said the table was necessary because of the size of her “team” and the size of the conference room in the Sheriff’s Office headquarters at 330 Bradford St. She said that with an organization of 800 people and during staff meetings, it is important to have space for everyone.

“We have a lot of people in that room and to have a small table, it really doesn’t really work for an organization our size,” Corpus said. “We looked at the size, and unfortunately, the costs are high. But that table will be there for 50 years.”

The 22-foot by 10-foot table includes 12 “cooling fans” in the legs and 10 “lockable access doors,” according to documents the Post obtained through a California Public Records Act request.

In March, the Post reported that she also purchased two soft-serve ice cream machines for employees in the county jails.