The Monterey Board of Supervisors has voted to censure Monterey County Sheriff Steve Bernal. The unanimous 5-0 vote was over misuse of taxpayer money. Supervisor Phillips said, "The censure was the only way some of us felt we could lawfully express our concerns."During public comment, almost all of the speakers supported the censure and cited the importance of accountability and transparency especially when it comes to the sheriff's office budget. According to the censure resolution, it's over misappropriation of funds related to the California State Sheriff’s Association annual convention in Monterey County in 2019. A district attorney's report on the event said the following: Seven employees of the sheriff’s office - two sergeants, four deputies, and a nonsworn custody control specialist - were assigned to supplemental transportation duties.The sheriff's office said they were assigned to provide security, but the employees said their duties were minimal and they spent 25% of their time on transportation.The D.A. report cited other issues at the event including that the donated vans were fueled from county-owned gasoline pumps, 21,000 rounds of county-owned ammunition were used during the convention at a private shooting range, and the employees working the event listed it as "normal duty" on their time card instead of being given a separate "event code."The report said the cost to the county for the time the employees worked was $21,433.44. The cost of the ammunition and gasoline is unknown at this time.The board of supervisors said they were concerned that county funds were used for duties outside the normal scope of sheriff's office employees and they were inappropriately assigned. They also expressed concern about the costs of county fuel and ammunition used at the event.Sheriff Bernal released the following statement: STATEMENT FROM SHERIFF BERNAL ON COUNTY SUPERVISOR VOTE"I am disappointed that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors passed this non-binding resolution and missed a golden opportunity to legislate and establish a standard protocol to host special events which are much sought after by this county.We are grateful for the work of the Monterey County District Attorney. This office cooperated fully with the inquiry which found no ill intent from those who were tasked with organizing the event. We take to heart the findings of the report and will evaluate how we can apply those findings to future special security events in Monterey County."