The Sher-iff don’t like it.

In the last waning days of 2009, Dane County finalized an agreement with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office to close the only remaining gap in Kathleen Falk’s cost-cutting plan to effectively deal with lower revenues and the recession.

However, it was not an easy task. In order to appease the Deputy Supervisors and Deputy Sheriff’s Association, the county agreed to a two-year contract, at the end of which county officers cops get a 3 percent raise that will restore their pay to current levels.

It certainly is a good deal for Dane County law enforcement, and it definitely shows that playing budgetary chicken with the county pays off in the end. If no agreement had been reached, 18 deputies would have been laid off..

But while the two-year contract ensures we won’t have to deal with this sticky situation until at least 2012 — perhaps longer if the economy bounces back — it also sends a message that law enforcement is, in budgetary terms, somewhat untouchable.

In addition to the Dane County negotiations, the 2009-11 Wisconsin Biennial Budget has a stipulation that ensures any municipality that cuts its police or fire department’s budget below 2009 levels will lose a significant portion of their shared revenue dollars from the state.

While we wouldn’t encourage Dane County or Madison to cut emergency services on a whim, creating obstacles to cuts necessitated either by recessionary spending or unnecessary expenditures gives law enforcement a sense of entitlement, even when everyone else is sacrificing.

It made sense to take cuts to the 911 Center off the table after a series of restructuring moves designed to fix the response flaws that surfaced following Brittany Zimmermann’s murder. Subjecting the department to further slashes would be counterproductive. But emergency services such as police and fire should not get a blank check. Rather, they should have to justify their purchases and spending just like the rest of government services. Otherwise, we would also have 20 more police officers in Madison being used for speed traps and busting house parties. As it stands, we are still diverting some resources there.

So, while we are glad to have all our tan-clad ducks in a row, the county has put itself in a position that leaves them without a squad car to stand on. Dane County might be able to uphold its end of the bargain if the recession dissipates, but if we continue to ride in the economic ditch, the county shouldn’t give chase when they hear those sirens again.