Yorba Linda to explore more police options
Can Yorba Linda save money on police protection through some other method than the current law enforcement contract with Brea, first negotiated by a City Council in 1970?
That’s a question frequently asked but less often examined in detail, even though the cost of the Brea contract has escalated considerably over the years, currently consuming close to 43 percent of Yorba Linda’s annual operating budget, $12 million out of $28.4 million.
Now, the 2011 council has voted to explore a wide range of options for providing police services in the city, including a “joint powers agreement” with Brea or Placentia or both Brea and Placentia, a contract with the county sheriff and an agreement with Anaheim.
The vote came at the end of the most recent council meeting and was supported by John Anderson, Nancy Rikel and Mark Schwing, with Tom Lindsey opposed and Jim Winder absent. An earlier Lindsey motion to expedite renewal of the current pact with Brea died.
No timeline for reporting results was included in the successful motion, but the existing five-year contract with Brea expires June 30, 2012. A recent 5-0 budget decision to cut two positions, a traffic officer and detective, was implemented in the 2011-12 fiscal year.
Researching other options is not a comment on the quality of services from Brea police, council members noted, only a desire to obtain actual cost estimates from other sources.
And a “joint powers” arrangement with Brea or Placentia or both Brea and Placentia would make Yorba Linda a partner in a law enforcement agency, rather than merely
a city contracting with another city that makes most of the key department decisions.
City Manager Steve Rudometkin stated that Brea officials are willing to discuss a joint authority, noting his Brea counterpart said to “put it on the table” for future negotiation.
Pointedly, the motion did not include an inquiry into the cost of creating a Yorba Linda-only department, an oft-proposed route that was detailed in a 2009 study by a city-hired consultant, who estimated a first-year “initiation expense” of $16.5 million.
Yorba Linda’s police contract cost jumped 76 percent in the past decade. Also increasing was the per-resident cost, from $112 in 2000-01 to $179 estimated in 2011-12, according to figures recently compiled by Brea police Lt. Jerry Brakebill.
During the same period, the cost to Brea residents increased 143 percent, from $6 million to $14.6 million. Taking population increases into account, Brea’s per-resident price rose from $170 to $364.
Per-resident costs for La Habra and Placentia, which have stand-alone departments, were $257. Lake Forest, one of the 12 county cities contracting with the Sheriff’s Department, pays $177 per resident, Brakebill’s numbers noted.
The most recent annual report compiled by Brea police Capt. John Burks covers police activity in Yorba Linda for 2010. Among facts not reported when the report was issued:
--Service calls dipped 13 percent to 19,916 from 2009’s 23,000. Average response time for emergency calls: 4 minutes, 32 seconds, a 10 second decrease from 2009.
--Serious crimes dropped 16 percent to 864 from 2009’s 1,025: no homicides, 3 rapes, 9 robberies, 46 felony assaults, 150 burglaries, 621 thefts, 33 stolen vehicles and 2 arsons.
--Arrests decreased 5 percent, 55 fewer than in 2009 (53 fewer adults and 2 fewer juveniles). Clearance rate for serious crimes: 21 percent, based on FBI guidelines.
That’s a question frequently asked but less often examined in detail, even though the cost of the Brea contract has escalated considerably over the years, currently consuming close to 43 percent of Yorba Linda’s annual operating budget, $12 million out of $28.4 million.
Now, the 2011 council has voted to explore a wide range of options for providing police services in the city, including a “joint powers agreement” with Brea or Placentia or both Brea and Placentia, a contract with the county sheriff and an agreement with Anaheim.
The vote came at the end of the most recent council meeting and was supported by John Anderson, Nancy Rikel and Mark Schwing, with Tom Lindsey opposed and Jim Winder absent. An earlier Lindsey motion to expedite renewal of the current pact with Brea died.
No timeline for reporting results was included in the successful motion, but the existing five-year contract with Brea expires June 30, 2012. A recent 5-0 budget decision to cut two positions, a traffic officer and detective, was implemented in the 2011-12 fiscal year.
Researching other options is not a comment on the quality of services from Brea police, council members noted, only a desire to obtain actual cost estimates from other sources.
And a “joint powers” arrangement with Brea or Placentia or both Brea and Placentia would make Yorba Linda a partner in a law enforcement agency, rather than merely
a city contracting with another city that makes most of the key department decisions.
City Manager Steve Rudometkin stated that Brea officials are willing to discuss a joint authority, noting his Brea counterpart said to “put it on the table” for future negotiation.
Pointedly, the motion did not include an inquiry into the cost of creating a Yorba Linda-only department, an oft-proposed route that was detailed in a 2009 study by a city-hired consultant, who estimated a first-year “initiation expense” of $16.5 million.
Yorba Linda’s police contract cost jumped 76 percent in the past decade. Also increasing was the per-resident cost, from $112 in 2000-01 to $179 estimated in 2011-12, according to figures recently compiled by Brea police Lt. Jerry Brakebill.
During the same period, the cost to Brea residents increased 143 percent, from $6 million to $14.6 million. Taking population increases into account, Brea’s per-resident price rose from $170 to $364.
Per-resident costs for La Habra and Placentia, which have stand-alone departments, were $257. Lake Forest, one of the 12 county cities contracting with the Sheriff’s Department, pays $177 per resident, Brakebill’s numbers noted.
The most recent annual report compiled by Brea police Capt. John Burks covers police activity in Yorba Linda for 2010. Among facts not reported when the report was issued:
--Service calls dipped 13 percent to 19,916 from 2009’s 23,000. Average response time for emergency calls: 4 minutes, 32 seconds, a 10 second decrease from 2009.
--Serious crimes dropped 16 percent to 864 from 2009’s 1,025: no homicides, 3 rapes, 9 robberies, 46 felony assaults, 150 burglaries, 621 thefts, 33 stolen vehicles and 2 arsons.
--Arrests decreased 5 percent, 55 fewer than in 2009 (53 fewer adults and 2 fewer juveniles). Clearance rate for serious crimes: 21 percent, based on FBI guidelines.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 PM
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