A LOOK AHEAD * The honeymoon with his bosses on the Board of Supervisors could be brief for L.A. County’s new sheriff as . . . : Baca Vows to ‘Raise Hell’ in Fight for Funds

Making promises some critics say he can never keep, Los Angeles County Sheriff-elect Lee Baca wrapped up a tour of 40 stations and jails last week, vowing to secure tens of millions of dollars in new funding to upgrade equipment and hire more deputies.

Baca--who takes office today, promised to “raise hell” to get more money for the department. The new sheriff said he will demand that the Board of Supervisors allocate $100 million more than the $1.1 billion the department already receives from the county.

If the board fails to give him the money, Baca told his deputies, he will seek the funds from state and federal officials. Although county and department sources say Baca’s plans are quixotic, he has received high marks from his troops.

“At least he’s making the effort,” said one deputy, who attended a meeting with Baca at the Santa Clarita station Wednesday.

While touring the stations, Baca took a confrontational stance when talking about the supervisors, who largely backed his opponent, the late Sheriff Sherman Block, in last month’s election.

“I don’t owe anyone anything,” Baca told a group of deputies in Calabasas. “If I’ve got to raise hell to get money for this department, then let’s get this hell-raising started right now.”

Baca was elected Nov. 3 after Block died just days earlier. Had Block won the election posthumously, it would have been up to the Board of Supervisors to choose a successor.

Although Baca likes to boast that he owes nothing to the board since only one of its members eventually endorsed him, political observers say the new sheriff’s success is largely dependent on how well he gets along with the county lawmakers.

“What Lee is doing now is great for public consumption,” said local campaign consultant Joe Cerrell. “But there’s only one problem: As I understand the process, the sheriff’s budget comes from the Board of Supervisors. They’re probably sitting back chuckling right now.”

With the county facing a massive budget shortfall, Baca’s comments did, in fact, generate a few laughs among government officials last week.

“Sherm [Block] had a good relationship with the board,” said one official, “and he didn’t get $100 million.”

But the supervisors remained conciliatory when asked about Baca’s comments. “The board stands ready to work with him,” Supervisor Don Knabe said. “He’s the new sheriff.”

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said: “We all want to work with him. I know I certainly do. We want to make him a success.”

However, Yaroslavsky added that he wants to make sure the Sheriff’s Department is using its resources efficiently before handing over any more money. Several scathing county audits released last year found widespread fiscal waste in the 14,000-member agency.

“There has got to be a constant vigilance to make sure they are getting the best return on taxpayer dollars,” Yaroslavsky said.

And therein lies the problem, sheriff’s sources say. With the agency’s $1.1-billion budget, the board is sure to find problems with the way the department is spending its money. Securing more cash could be an uphill battle, especially with the county facing a $300-million shortfall in the health department’s budget, and the state looking at a possible deficit of its own next year.

“What [Baca] doesn’t realize is the board can get back at him 100 different ways,” said one department source. “He’s giving the deputies false hope.”

But Baca told the deputies in Santa Clarita last week that he would be remiss if he didn’t at least try to get more funds. Without the money, Baca said, the department must cut its operations.

Putting together a wish list, deputies told the new sheriff that they need equipment ranging from cellular phones to cars.

“Every command has its own specific needs,” Baca said. “All these things are unknown by the supervisors. The point is: They have an obligation to know.”

With board members in attendance, Baca is set to be sworn in at the Pasadena Civic Center at 10:30 a.m. today. More than 5,000 people have been invited to the event.

Though Baca has declined to disclose whom he plans to promote to his top staff positions, a fund-raising invitation sent out by his supporters last week made his intentions clear. Asking supporters to “Meet the new sheriff and his command staff,” it listed Paul Myron as undersheriff, William T. Stonich and Larry L. Waldie as the assistant sheriffs and Cmdr. Lee A. Davenport as chief of staff.

The promotions come amid a purge of Block loyalists. After Baca’s election, Undersheriff Jerry Harper and acting Assistant Sheriff Rachel Burgess announced they were stepping down. Assistant Sheriff Mike Graham said he had hoped to stay on, but that Baca’s people told him he would be demoted if he did not retire.

*

Times staff writers Nicholas Riccardi and Solomon Moore contributed to this story.