BUENA PARK, Calif. — With police union talks at standstill, city officials seek cost estimate in using Sheriff's Department instead.
A couple of times in the past few years, discussions about whether this city should contract with the Orange County Sheriff's Department have surfaced at council meetings.
In the past, those discussions were brief and almost immediately forgotten.
No longer.
As negotiations between city administrators and the police union remain at a standstill, talk about bringing in county deputies has grown serious.
On Tuesday, despite strong public opposition, the City Council voted to ask the Sheriff's Department for a preliminary estimate of how much a police-services contract would cost. In doing so, Buena Park has started down the path Yorba Linda took earlier this year. That city's council eventually voted to have the Sheriff's Department take over for the Brea Police Department, which has patrolled Yorba Linda for more than 40 years. With the addition of Yorba Linda next year, the Sheriff's Department will cover 13 of the county's 34 cities.
Whether talk of hiring the Sheriff's Department is real or a tactic to kick-start a new round of salary negotiations with the police union is up for debate. City Hall has won concessions or imposed them on most city employees, but negotiations with the Buena Park Police Association have stalled over city officials asking officers to pay more toward their retirements.
Publicly, Buena Park's council members – as their Yorba Linda counterparts did before them – say it's all about the money.
"About four years ago, we had $29 million in (budget) reserves. Today, we have about $10 million," Councilman Steve Berry said of the reserves that get chipped away by a few million or so each year to fill holes in the budget. "We're at a point where I'm seeing bankruptcy in a year and a half to two years if things keep going the way I see them going."
For this fiscal year, the Police Department budget is $25.3 million; the city's entire general-fund budget is $54.46 million.
Still, police Chief Corey Sianez, who oversees 80-plus sworn officers, urged the council not to look outside the city, saying there has to be a compromise somewhere.
"What they do, they do well, but the level of service – not the quality of service – is different than what we have here," Sianez said of the Sheriff's Department. "We have a vested interest in Buena Park, and we know the needs of this community unlike any other. We're keenly aware of our local businesses, our neighborhoods and our criminals. … The Orange County Sheriff's Department would be starting from scratch."
Last week's council meeting on the subject was packed with officers, their families and friends, and residents who want to keep the Police Department – again, similar to what happened in Yorba Linda. The Buena Park residents backed up Sianez's assertions that losing a known quantity isn't worth whatever potential savings there may be.
Some worried about having to be ultimately beholden to Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, not the City Council – reminiscent, they said, to the loss of local control when the city contracted for fire services with the Orange County Fire Authority.
"Please don't do this. Don't even think about doing this," longtime resident Carole Peterson said. "We don't need this, we don't want this, and as residents of Buena Park, we won't stand for this."
Bruce Hird, director of the Boys and Girls Club of Buena Park, told the council about the positive experiences the children of his club have had with the police officers. "You can't contract out history," Hird said. "You can't contract out relationships."
Alfonso Sandoval, part of the city's police explorer program, delivered his message slowly and deliberately. "I'm gripping this podium … in anger," he said. "I'm appalled at the fact you're even considering this."
Similar public anger in Yorba Linda spurred some residents to launch a recall effort against Councilman John Anderson, who voted to finalize that city's contract with the Sheriff's Department. (The effort would likely have also targeted council members Nancy Rikel and Mark Schwing had they not been up for re-election in November.) The recall failed Thursday evening, when proponents failed to get the nearly 8,700 signatures needed.
Buena Park's council members acknowledged the residents' concerns and alluded to union stubbornness as forcing them down the path of contracting out police services.
While it wasn't brought up at the meeting, Mayor Jim Dow and Councilman Fred Smith say they've been harassed by officers or agents working for the union.
Brad Geyer, who is on the Police Association's board, said the Police Department has offered concessions.
"For the past three years, all police employees have taken furloughs, contributed more toward medical benefits, dealt with downsizing through attrition and layoffs, and recently agreed to contribute toward retirement contributions," Geyer, a sergeant, said in an email. "These concessions would place us at or near the bottom of the county in compensation. We believe we have offered more than enough to work with city officials to bridge this gap, but they still want to explore other options. We respect their opinion, but disagree (contracting with the Sheriff's Department) would be a viable solution for the city."
Assistant Sheriff Mark Billings said the Sheriff's Department doesn't have a plan to expand but is open to inquiries.
"Sheriff Hutchens does not actively solicit these contracts. She's responsive to anyone who makes a request of us for services," Billings said.
In the end, Councilwoman Elizabeth Swift voted against getting a preliminary cost estimate from the Sheriff's Department. Her hesitation, she said, came from concern that the county's own retirement system wasn't in the best shape.
Councilmen Berry, Smith, Miller Oh and Mayor Dow voted in favor of the preliminary cost estimate, which will cost the city nothing. The study will take about two months to complete. A more in-depth study would have cost the city $25,000.
"As much as I hate to say it, this is about money," Dow said of the decision to move forward with the estimate. "If you're a business, you've got to plan for what's coming in the future. And this is it."