'Why not a YL-only police department?'
One often-asked question—especially by new residents and less-knowledgeable City Council candidates—is, “Why doesn’t Yorba Linda have its own police department?”
And the standard answer—provided by most city leaders for the past 40 years—is, “Contracting with Brea provides equivalent law enforcement service for less cost.”
Now, an informative Law Enforcement Service Study wisely commissioned by the city’s governing body outlines how much a Yorba Linda-only department would cost residents.
A 71-page report on the study’s findings is slated for discussion at the Jan. 19 council meeting. The report makes constructive recommendations regarding the existing Brea contract and explores other policing options, related in my Dec. 17 and Jan. 7 columns.
Establishing a Yorba Linda Police Department would take nearly $16.5 million, which includes a bit more than $13 million annual cost and close to $3.5 million “transitional expense,” according to the Ralph Anderson & Associates study.
By contrast, Yorba Linda will pay Brea nearly $11 million for 2009-10, about 38 per cent of the city operating budget. The initial agreement with Brea was signed in 1970, and the current contract expires in 2012. Previously, county Sheriff’s deputies policed the area.
A stand-alone department would require 72.5 full-time equivalent positions—57 sworn officers and 15.5 non-sworn personnel—based on current workload. The report noted a stable population and criminal activity, making a need for future added staff “doubtful.”
Personnel would include a chief, two captains, five lieutenants, eight sergeants, 30 patrol officers, one school resource officer, four traffic officers, six detectives and the 15.5 non-sworn employees for reports, records, parking enforcement and other assorted tasks.
Of course, salaries, benefits, overtime, training and liability would eat up most of the annual budget, about $10.5 million of the $13 million total, with supplies, equipment, building rental and additional staff in other city departments making up the remainder.
“In addition to operating expense, there is the issue of where to physically locate Yorba Linda’s police department,” noted the report, which cited a lack of buildings within city limits that could accommodate a proposed department’s space and parking needs.
A new facility, with furnishings and equipment, could cost at least $545 per square foot, with an estimated price tag for a 21,000 square-foot building approaching $11.5 million.
According to the report, Brea “has prepared some preliminary estimates for building a new police station of $30 million, without land acquisition and utilities.” Chino Hills spent $17 million for a 30,000 square-foot facility, “which was considered a bargain.”
“Finding the available land and adequate funds for a Yorba Linda police station would seem challenging,” the report’s consultants sensibly concluded.
And the standard answer—provided by most city leaders for the past 40 years—is, “Contracting with Brea provides equivalent law enforcement service for less cost.”
Now, an informative Law Enforcement Service Study wisely commissioned by the city’s governing body outlines how much a Yorba Linda-only department would cost residents.
A 71-page report on the study’s findings is slated for discussion at the Jan. 19 council meeting. The report makes constructive recommendations regarding the existing Brea contract and explores other policing options, related in my Dec. 17 and Jan. 7 columns.
Establishing a Yorba Linda Police Department would take nearly $16.5 million, which includes a bit more than $13 million annual cost and close to $3.5 million “transitional expense,” according to the Ralph Anderson & Associates study.
By contrast, Yorba Linda will pay Brea nearly $11 million for 2009-10, about 38 per cent of the city operating budget. The initial agreement with Brea was signed in 1970, and the current contract expires in 2012. Previously, county Sheriff’s deputies policed the area.
A stand-alone department would require 72.5 full-time equivalent positions—57 sworn officers and 15.5 non-sworn personnel—based on current workload. The report noted a stable population and criminal activity, making a need for future added staff “doubtful.”
Personnel would include a chief, two captains, five lieutenants, eight sergeants, 30 patrol officers, one school resource officer, four traffic officers, six detectives and the 15.5 non-sworn employees for reports, records, parking enforcement and other assorted tasks.
Of course, salaries, benefits, overtime, training and liability would eat up most of the annual budget, about $10.5 million of the $13 million total, with supplies, equipment, building rental and additional staff in other city departments making up the remainder.
“In addition to operating expense, there is the issue of where to physically locate Yorba Linda’s police department,” noted the report, which cited a lack of buildings within city limits that could accommodate a proposed department’s space and parking needs.
A new facility, with furnishings and equipment, could cost at least $545 per square foot, with an estimated price tag for a 21,000 square-foot building approaching $11.5 million.
According to the report, Brea “has prepared some preliminary estimates for building a new police station of $30 million, without land acquisition and utilities.” Chino Hills spent $17 million for a 30,000 square-foot facility, “which was considered a bargain.”
“Finding the available land and adequate funds for a Yorba Linda police station would seem challenging,” the report’s consultants sensibly concluded.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 PM
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