Grand Jury Commends Sheriff’s Office Contracting

The switch of the Half Moon Bay police department into a San Mateo County Sheriff’s bureau took place in 2011, and since then the public’s response to the transition has been a “positive” one, according to a civil grand jury report, which recommends the contract continues.

In the report “Cash strapped cities that hired the sheriff ... Is it working?” the grand jury concluded that Half Moon Bay as well as two other San Mateo County cities — San Carlos and Millbrae — have all improved by outsourcing police services to the Sheriff’s Office.

The jury found that the contracts are good models for other cities facing budgetary restraints, saving significant money while maintaining or even bolstering services.

Half Moon Bay’s $2.3 million contract saved it approximately $500,000, Millbrae’s $5 million contract saved $532,000 and San Carlos’ $7 million contract saved about $2 million, according to the report.

In a recent Daily Journal article, Sheriff Greg Munks said the contracting has been a win for his department, too, because it “strengthens the staff, stabilizes the budget and provides more opportunity for deputies to try out new areas.”

Munks also said in the article that the Sheriff’s Office made an offer to Pacifica last year, which was ultimately declined and there are no new discussions with other cities. Read the full report in the Daily Journal here.

Pacifica Mayor Len Stone told Patch that the latest numbers they have show that the Sheriff's proposal for contracting services isn't as cost effective as they first thought and that "any potential savings evaporate after about four years," he said. 

Just last week, the Pacifica City Council accepted the recommendations of a consulting firm which was asked to study ways to improve police services and save money in the police department without contracting services.

The police department has a budget of $8.6 million, a $589,345 decrease from last year.

The report contained recommendations on staff level changes to save money such as reducing two patrol officers and using a clerical, or non-sworn, position to perform some of the tasks in the detective division by subtracting a detective position and adding the cost of a clerical position. 

Also, an anonymous employee survey, polling employees about their service to the community, management, organization, staffing, equipment and facilities, showed that all agreed the department meets the needs of the community. In a nutshell, the report reveals that Pacifica has a department that's seen as professional and responsive to the needs of residents and public safety issues in the community.

The report recommended an additional year of data collection before considering changes to the patrol division. 

"It's recommended we wait a year because we just recently made changes to our call system," said Stone, "and we need to evaluate that data before moving ahead."

Read the full grand jury report here. 

What do you think of the Sheriff's police services in Half Moon Bay? Do you think it would be a smart move for a city like Pacifica to hand over their public safety services to the Sheriff’s Office as well? Tell us in the comments.