A hired consultant’s report on potential law enforcement consolidation recommends that the city and county do not enter into a law enforcement contract despite an estimated $322,000 annual savings, according to the document released before a scheduled Tuesday meeting.
Hollister and San Benito County both released public copies of a report from Municipal Resources Group – hired for $20,000 and a cost split by the two governments – to make recommendations on potential law enforcement consolidation or areas where the city police department and sheriff’s office could work more efficiently. The result of that report, preceding a joint meeting Tuesday involving the county board and city council, is a recommendation against a full contract between the two municipalities.
To view the entire report, go here.
That same report, which includes comparative data such as population and compensation figures, does include a list of areas where the consultants contend the police department and sheriff’s office could better collaborate. The long-awaited release of the report from Municipal Resources Group is the culmination of talks that heated up during the 2010 sheriff’s race about potential consolidation and whether it might save money or allow for more seamless cooperation.
While the 30-page report largely includes information about the process – including data on each agency’s compensation, work structure and service populations – it concludes that a city-county contract and its estimated $316,000 annual savings are not significant enough to offset the complications involved with consolidation. The report summarizes two “main reasons” for the recommendation as:
–Â Â Â “The relatively small size of the two jurisdictions and the lack of internal organizational infrastructure in the County Sheriff’s Department to provide management, personnel, training and administrative support for the expanded services that the county would be undertaking.”
–Â Â Â “The low staffing ratios of the two departments would not be improved by contracting, due to the disparity in service demographics and the geographic differences between two agencies.”
The report underscored one complication in particular in that compensation for the police department’s positions was higher across the board, including the amount paid by Hollister for pension plans.
It also pointed out that although the two agencies had a similar number of sworn officers despite the county’s much smaller population served – 25 for the city and 27 for the sheriff’s office – the sheriff’s office had about 1,400 square miles of coverage compared with the police department’s 7.26 square miles.
The data and conclusions weren’t a surprise to Hollister Mayor Ray Friend. He said he “completely” agrees with the consultant’s recommendation urging against a full merger. He believes there are some “mutual redundancies” where the two agencies could cooperate, as pointed out in the report.
“I completely agree,” Friend said, “whatever savings was in there would not be enough savings compared to all of the hassles there would be in changing it over.”
City Manager Clint Quilter noted that city and county officials will be briefed on the report at the meeting, and the two boards will have to make independent decisions on where they want to go from here. Any kind of proposal for a contract would have to go before the council first, he said, adding how the county could decide it doesn’t have interest in any partnership beyond the current, informal arrangement.
On the county end, Supervisor Jerry Muenzer reiterated points made in the report about the two law enforcement agencies having staffs that are similar in size.
“They were saying that usually doesn’t work as well,” Muenzer said. “So I guess, I don’t think I want to make any decisions until I hear what the consultant says at the meeting.”
MEETING PREVIEW
WHO: Hollister council and county board
WHAT: Meeting on police consolidation report
WHEN: 6 p.m. Tuesday
WHERE: County Administration Building, 481 Fourth St.
