SACRAMENTO – The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors agreed Wednesday night to restore proposed budget cuts to the district attorney's office before entering recess.

The move comes after District Attorney Thien Ho testified inside the chambers that the cuts would lead him to halt prosecutions of all misdemeanor cases.

He turned the board chambers into more of a courtroom, arguing his case against cuts. 

"The word 'recommendation' means that I approve of it, that I consent to it, and I'm going to say right now I've never consented, approved, or recommended any of these cuts," Ho said. "If we cut by $1.7 million, I won't have the vacancies to fill the misdemeanor cases."

Ho said his department was already working with limited resources. 

"Because we are hanging together by duct tape and superglue," Ho said. 

Ho made the case that cuts of $1.7 million would force him to cut seven attorney positions from his staff. Low-level crimes like vandalism and burglary would be left with no staffing to prosecute. 

"I can't cut enough photocopies to meet $1.7 million," Ho said.

The packed chambers watched as Ho made the case that these recommendations were not his, but forced on him by the board. 

A point that Supervisor Phil Serna refuted, leading to an exchange between the two inside the chamber.

"This recommendation of the cuts is coming from the CO's office and I've also been very clear about what that would be reflected in," Ho said.

"I disagree wholeheartedly," Serna said. "He doesn't have the authority to make the recommendations. He just doesn't. It's not a fact, so we can agree to disagree, but it's not a fact."

"Well, we'll disagree, respectfully, mister chair," Ho said.