Yorba Linda's Sheriff's contract: slight cost reduction won't last in new agreement

 

An unusual first is one element in Yorba Linda's third five-year agreement with the Orange County Sheriff's Department for law enforcement services: A slight reduction in the cost of the first year of the new contract with a July 1 start date.

The estimated first-year billing will be about $70,000 less than the final year of the current pact that ends June 30, according to Assistant City Manager Dave Christian, who said the dollar dip is because of “some slight reductions in some operational costs.”

However, Christian warned City Council members that the savings will be short-lived, since the department is negotiating with employee groups, with increases in salaries and benefits the likely result. Negotiations are expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Christian said the council will then act on an amendment to the agreement that will cover the expected increases. He noted the city has included an 8% hike in labor costs in the first year and a 6% boost in the second year of the city's two-year budget scheduled for action June 20.

Savings could have totaled about $200,000, but the city chose to add a non-sworn community service officer to the agreement at an approximate cost of $130,000. The total first-year dollar amount for services starting July 1 is estimated at a bit more than $13.4 million.

At the start of the current agreement, Yorba Linda had the lowest per-capita cost for service of the department's 13 contract cities. Now, Yorba Linda is in the bottom three for the lowest per-capita cost. Policing accounts for 32% of the general fund budget, according to Christian.

Addition of a third community service officer will allow deputies “to remain on patrol more often by alleviating some of their other duties like parking enforcement, traffic collision reports, dealing with abandoned vehicles and assisting with routine traffic hazard calls,” Christian said.

Mayor Gene Hernandez, a former police chief in Chino, told his council colleagues that community service officers are “worth their weight in gold,” based on his law enforcement service in three cities. The new five-year pact was approved on a unanimous council vote.

A deputy that was added in 2017 as part of the city’s membership in the North Orange County Public Safety Collaborative will continue with funding through the collaborative, Christian noted.

Included in the contract are 28 Deputy Sheriff II positions, including 23 in patrol, two motorcycle officers, two for community support and one school resource officer. The annual cost of service for each officer is $283,874 for salary, benefits and various field expenses.

Others included in the 43 positions assigned to Yorba Linda include a captain acting as the police services chief, five sergeants, three investigators, an investigator assistant, a crime prevention specialist and an office specialist. Personnel include 12.9 regional and shared positions.