Mayor Ignacio Velazquez said he wants to see at least $500,000 in savings to move ahead with a law enforcement contract involving the Hollister Police Department and San Benito County Sheriff’s Office.
That might not be that far fetched, either, considering an initial estimate from the sheriff indicates the number could be closer to $2 million annually.
County and city officials are going to be considering proposals from the city police department and county sheriff’s office – detailing estimated costs to manage a contract between the two agencies. Hollister police will provide an estimate of providing all patrol services in the county – the sheriff’s office is required to handle the jail, coroner activities and other matters – while the sheriff’s office will offer its estimate to offer all law enforcement services in the county.
While any talks likely won’t occur until after the Fourth of July motorcycle rally – Hollister’s interim police chief said the staff is dedicating all available time toward planning event security – the mayor recently told the Free Lance he would be satisfied with $500,000 in savings and that his goal is to save $1 million or more off the $5.8 million police budget.
Velazquez said the pending consideration of the law enforcement contract is the reason Hollister hasn’t moved ahead in hiring a permanent police chief. The city does have a request for applications out and received some applicants, but those prospects will have to wait for now.
“What is the number that makes the city say, yeah, we need to really think about this? And what’s the number that says, we need to do this?” Velazquez said in pronouncing $500,000 as a minimum for consideration.
He went on: “My goal is making sure there is savings of a million-plus or more,” he said.
Velazquez, meanwhile, said he is confident the city can reach those numbers with the savings. If that happens, it would eclipse the estimated savings of slightly more than $300,000 – that’s a total between the city and county – included in a consultant’s projection presented to officials two years ago. Â
Reconsideration of law enforcement consolidation was one of Velazquez’s campaign objectives. He said he wants to get “more cops on the streets.”
“That’s my big thing I’m trying to crack,” he said.
That would certainly appease officials such as Sheriff Darren Thompson. He said he had finished his “snapshot” of a model that would involve the sheriff’s office overseeing all city police activities.
Thompson estimated that providing 20 officers, along with vehicles and equipment, could cost in the range of $3 million to $3.5 million. That would be closer to around $2 million in annual savings for the city – nowhere near the dollar amount presented by consultants.
Thompson acknowledged there is a potential downside with employee morale whatever way the contract goes, but he also noted that “it’s been the choice of 41 of L.A. County’s 88 cities” to contract with the sheriff there.
Thompson said he is waiting for a group of associated city and county officials to reconvene to present his snapshot. He said the consideration “deserves a thorough look.”
“This is a huge step for the city to even be considering it,” Thompson said, “and it shouldn’t be considered lightly or jumped into without really examining all the ramifications.”
Hollister interim police chief, Carlos Reynoso, said there is no meeting scheduled and that it would likely occur after the rally. His department’s work on a proposal for county patrol services also would have to wait, he said.
