Study examines Brea police contract, options
This city’s elected leaders will spend a good portion of the Christmas holidays pouring over a 71-page document that examines Yorba Linda’s law enforcement contract with Brea and explores potential alternatives to the pioneering pact negotiated 40 years ago.
The report evaluates the current service provided by Brea and assesses other options: creating a Yorba Linda police force, contracting with another city or county Sheriff’s Department and forming a joint powers agreement with Brea or a different city or cities.
The study was produced by Rocklin, California-based consultants Ralph Anderson & Associates, and is scheduled for a first public airing at a City Council session Jan. 19.
An advance look at the report shows the study’s $43,000 cost is among the city’s best-spent dollars for 2009, even if Yorba Linda continues the Brea contract 40 more years.
Among the wealth of facts and figures in the report are well-reasoned estimates of the costs of forming a Yorba Linda-only department and important comparisons of Brea- provided service pricing with what the county Sheriff offers other cities.
And worth the cost of the study alone are 47 specific recommendations for improving Brea’s service to Yorba Linda, some of which could save money now and others after the current five-year contract expires in 2012.
Projected annual operating budget for a Yorba Linda Police Department is estimated to be a bit more than $13 million, plus close to $3.5 million of “transitional expense,” for nearly $16.5 million in first-year expenses and start-up costs.
Expenses include $500,000 for facility rent, but construction costs for a 21,000-square-foot building would approach $11.5 million. “Finding the available land and adequate funds for a Yorba Linda police station would seem challenging,” the report noted.
Yorba Linda will pay Brea close to $11 million for 2009-10 fiscal year services, some 38 percent of Yorba Linda’s general fund budget, according to the report. That’s about $165 per resident, compared to Brea’s cost of around $371.
Stand-alone departments cost Placentia $242, Cypress $298 and Tustin $288 per resident. Lake Forest’s contract with the Orange County Sheriff costs $161, Chino Hills’ with San Bernardino County $128 and Diamond Bar’s with Los Angeles County $94.
The report detailed problems with other options, such as contracting with another city. Placentia’s financial problems, as well as Anaheim’s size and Yorba Linda’s lawsuits with that city, make them unlikely partners.
Similar difficulties and less probable cost savings surround joint powers arrangements, making a county Sheriff’s contract the most viable option to the Brea agreement. This potential competition might work to keep police costs reasonable for future years.
The report evaluates the current service provided by Brea and assesses other options: creating a Yorba Linda police force, contracting with another city or county Sheriff’s Department and forming a joint powers agreement with Brea or a different city or cities.
The study was produced by Rocklin, California-based consultants Ralph Anderson & Associates, and is scheduled for a first public airing at a City Council session Jan. 19.
An advance look at the report shows the study’s $43,000 cost is among the city’s best-spent dollars for 2009, even if Yorba Linda continues the Brea contract 40 more years.
Among the wealth of facts and figures in the report are well-reasoned estimates of the costs of forming a Yorba Linda-only department and important comparisons of Brea- provided service pricing with what the county Sheriff offers other cities.
And worth the cost of the study alone are 47 specific recommendations for improving Brea’s service to Yorba Linda, some of which could save money now and others after the current five-year contract expires in 2012.
Projected annual operating budget for a Yorba Linda Police Department is estimated to be a bit more than $13 million, plus close to $3.5 million of “transitional expense,” for nearly $16.5 million in first-year expenses and start-up costs.
Expenses include $500,000 for facility rent, but construction costs for a 21,000-square-foot building would approach $11.5 million. “Finding the available land and adequate funds for a Yorba Linda police station would seem challenging,” the report noted.
Yorba Linda will pay Brea close to $11 million for 2009-10 fiscal year services, some 38 percent of Yorba Linda’s general fund budget, according to the report. That’s about $165 per resident, compared to Brea’s cost of around $371.
Stand-alone departments cost Placentia $242, Cypress $298 and Tustin $288 per resident. Lake Forest’s contract with the Orange County Sheriff costs $161, Chino Hills’ with San Bernardino County $128 and Diamond Bar’s with Los Angeles County $94.
The report detailed problems with other options, such as contracting with another city. Placentia’s financial problems, as well as Anaheim’s size and Yorba Linda’s lawsuits with that city, make them unlikely partners.
Similar difficulties and less probable cost savings surround joint powers arrangements, making a county Sheriff’s contract the most viable option to the Brea agreement. This potential competition might work to keep police costs reasonable for future years.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 PM
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