Pacifica and San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Submit Bids To Police Half Moon Bay

If the Half Moon Bay City Council decides to make the formal decision later this spring to outsource their police force, residents will either be or the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

Half Moon Bay City Manager Laura Snideman announced shortly after 5:30 p.m. today that both agencies had submitted bids in time to meet today's deadline. Half Moon Bay Interim Police Chief Lee Violett confirmed that both bids were received today. The for bids was sent out at the end of January.

"It is clear that both organizations thoughtfully approached the process and both provided a variety of options for service levels," Snideman wrote in a press release.  "There is the potential for significant budget savings compared to the current cost of police services."

Four months ago, after the loss of a 1% city sales tax increase lost at the polls on Election Day -- a measure that city officials said would enable Half Moon Bay to maintain current city services by raising revenue by an estimated $1.4 million annually --  city officials held a on Nov. 4 to explore cost-saving service models. 

At the Nov. 4 meeting, the police department was identified as the highest budget item sustained by the city (at a yearly cost of approximately $3.5 million), leading the City Council to task Interim Police Chief Lee Violett with preparing a request for proposals (RFPs) aimed at local law enforcement agencies to provide police services for the city. The was identified as the second major area where the city should explore alternative service models.

Despite their plans to issue the RFP, city council members have not said that they are committed to outsource city police; in fact, at a city council meeting held in January where councilmembers brainstormed ideas to cut costs and raise revenues, Vice Mayor Allan Alifano and Councilmember Rick Kowalczyk floated ideas that would avoid police outsourcing. Kowalczyk's idea was to turn the tables and arrange for the city's police department to provide services for the unincorporated San Mateo County Coastside in place of the current provider, the county Sheriff's Office. Mayor Naomi Patridge has expressed concern that outside law enforcement agencies would not sustain the "community policing" model which she has said contributes to the city's relatively low crime rate.

Snideman noted in today's announcement that while the city understands that the public is curious about the specifics of the two proposals, the documents will not be released to the public until city staff have been able to review them.

"Staff will be reviewing the documents over the next few days to determine if there is any additional work or clarification needed from the bidder," Violett said this evening.

The city also said that proposals are also being kept confidential during this period so that competing agencies do not gain an "unfair advantage" over another by getting information from another bidder's proposal.

"The proposals will be available for public review as soon as they have been accepted as complete, and in any event no later than ten days from today in accordance with the requirements of the California Public Records Act," Snideman's press release concluded.

City staff and Interim Police Chief Violett will present the proposals to the City Council for their review at a meeting later this spring.