MISSION VIEJO – As discussions continue about the rising cost of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department contracts with South Orange County cities, Mission Viejo Mayor Pro Tem Ed Sachs said during his closing remarks at Tuesday night’s Sept. 12 city council meeting that perhaps the time has come for cities to consider forming their own police force.
Sachs’ concerns centered around a lack of appropriate statistics, which he said are necessary for the city council to make appropriate decisions on how to protect the residents of Mission Viejo.
“I have no idea what it costs us per deputy to run a police service in this city,” Sachs said.
“If we’re not able to get those sorts of things…it may be time, in fact, to start a (joint powers authority) in South County and start our own police services,” he added. “We could contract out to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for SWAT or helicopters, or boat rescue.”
Sachs’ remarks come nearly one month after Mission Viejo announced it was taking the lead among and offering a memorandum of understanding with 12 other cities to conduct a study into the rising cost of the annual OCSD contract.
The other cities include Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Stanton, Villa Park and Yorba Linda. Some of those cities have already agreed to enter the memorandum of understanding. The rest are anticipated to vote by the end of September on whether or not to approve the collective study.
Over the last 10 years, costs for OCSD law enforcement services have risen on average by 33 percent. Some cities have seen their police services contracts rise by 25 percent over the last three years, including Aliso Viejo, Lake Forest and Rancho Santa Margarita.
Dennis Wilberg, city manager for Mission Viejo, said in August the city was in a very good position, “so I wouldn’t call (the contract) a hardship.
“We all agree, it’s good management and good practice to every so often take a look at the contract to see if we can create efficiencies,” he said.
But Sachs said a report, showing five-year projections, during the city’s budget workshop process revealed that if the costs continue to escalate at their current rate, Mission Viejo’s expenses could surpass revenues in three years.
“I can guarantee you that the police services contract will continue to escalate,” Sachs said. “What that means is we are unable to have some of the services that we need in this city and that our residents enjoy in this city.”
According to the contract documents, Mission Viejo is paying just over $19 million for police services in 2017-18, including $609,000 for regional or shared staff and $2.7 million in other charges and credits for bilingual staff, contract administration, enhanced helicopter response services, overtime and holiday pay, among others, according to the contract documents.
That contract between the city and OCSD was approved by the Orange County Board of Supervisors, June 27.
O.C. supervisors also manage any benefit and pay increases to OCSD employees, Sachs said, adding the city has no input into that process, but the city is saddled with the bills from that process. He said the city rarely needs SWAT or helicopter rescue services.
“I’m not saying they’re not important,” he said. “I can’t look to a resident and tell them exactly what our police services cost in this city and I think every person should know full well what those costs are, but we don’t have that information.”
He also said he believes the council is getting erroneous data, or not all the data it deserves to make judgments on police services.
Theft, vandalism and disorderly conduct account for the highest number of crimes in Mission Viejo, according to OCSD data on its website.
“I would implore the city manager and other staff members to continue to press for the kind of information this council needs to make the appropriate kind of decisions on public safety for this city,” Sachs said. “It’s the No. 1 thing we think about every day. How do we protect the residents of this city? They pay taxes, they deserve the best police services money can buy.
“We claim over and over that we’re the safest city, but I have no idea,” he added. “I have no idea if that’s true or not.”