I can certainly see why Joe Arpaio has been unable to pony up the requested plans for how he will cut his budget. America’s toughest sheriff can’t possibly cut his budget.

So many investigations of arch enemies to conduct, so few resources with which to conduct them.

At a time when every government agency is having to cut programs and make do, Republic reporter Yvonne Wingett is reporting that Arpaio is sending his intrepid investigators into county government, asking for all emails, calendars and phone records for 36 county employees - back to the beginning of time, presumably.

County officials are saying that it’ll cost tens of thousands of dollars to comply with Arpaio’s open-ended request. But then cost is apparently no object because you and I are picking up the tab.

According to Wingett, Arpaio appears to be after county folks with whom he has had recent run-ins, including all five supervisors and their chiefs of staff.

Meanwhile, Andy Thomas continues his quest to waste our money, having filed suit last month against the Board of Supervisors, challenging their authority to bypass him and hire outside attorneys to advise them on civil matters.

While I understand Thomas’ desire to protect his turf, he did bring down a 118-count felony indictment against Supervisor Don Stapley for omissions on his financial-disclosure forms. Did he really expect Stapley et al to rely on him for legal advice?

Meanwhile, out here in the real world, every public agency in town is rifling yesterday’s pants pockets and looking under the sofa for spare change to fund vital programs. It’s nice to see that Sheriff Joe and Sidekick Andy are not hurting for cash.

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/LaurieRoberts/45470