Just
three years ago the chief controversy in Yorba Linda was the switch
from the Brea Police Department to the Orange County Sheriff's
Department for law enforcement services, with the debate generating
widespread public input and embroiling two City Council election
cycles.
Now,
however, a contract amendment establishing service levels and costs
for the fiscal year that began July 1 has been handled as a routine
adoption on the council's “consent calendar,” which grouped seven
separate items for a single vote on a June meeting agenda.
Both
costs and service levels will increase in the amendment running
through June 30, 2016, for an overall 4.5 percent or $405,719 boost
to $9,426,452 that funds current services with an added mounted unit
to assist with various events and an investigator to help with case
loads.
The
new positions will be filled by retired personnel with reserve status
and paid for hours worked with no overhead, costing less than
full-time positions and perhaps reducing overtime earned by regular
employees, according to a report from Finance Director Dave
Christian.
Most
of the cost increase, 3.2 percent or $284,729, is due to salary
boosts granted after negotiations with the union representing
deputies. The city hired the department in July 2012 under an
agreement that runs through June 2018. Actual services began in
January 2013.
Some
interesting aspects of the 12-page amendment, the sixth to be added
to the original document:
--Serving
the city are 39 full-time, two half-time and small percentages of
13.5 regional and shared staff officers. The full-timers include 21
deputies in patrol services and three on motorcycles for traffic
services.
--Investigation
services include three investigators, an investigative assistant and
a half-time sergeant, while the community support unit includes a
community service deputy, a school resource officer and a crime
prevention specialist.
--Management
and supervision include a lieutenant (police services chief), four
patrol sergeants and a half-time administrative sergeant. Other
full-time positions include an office specialist and two non-sworn
community services officers for parking and traffic enforcement.
--The
city will pay full costs for the acquisition, installation and
maintenance of patrol video systems that are or will be mounted in
patrol vehicles assigned to the city and contribute to a fund for
replacements and upgrades to the systems.
--The
increase in salaries is a 7.94 jump over the previous year, while
overtime is expected to increase 1.23 percent to $468,057. Cost for
benefits, including retirement, health, unemployment, workers'
compensation and Medicare will increase 0.07 percent to $3,440,107.
--Cost
to field each of the 21 deputies assigned to patrol services,
including salary, benefits and overhead, is $222,938, and cost to
field each of the three deputies assigned to motorcycles is $228,121.