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A third vote on police?

By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA
Published November 8, 2006

Voters here may be asked to pick between keeping their Police Department and reducing the cost of a new city hall.

The council is expected to vote in December to hold a special March 2007 referendum on the future of the city's Police Department.

Voters have been asked twice before, and twice before have overwhelmingly opted to support their local police.

But now the issue is more than simply a choice between keeping the local department and contracting with the Sheriff's Office or another agency for law enforcement services.

At issue are increased construction costs that have overwhelmed the slightly more than $2-million originally budgeted for building the new city hall.

City Manager Reid Silverboard says building costs escalated more than 60 percent earlier this year. Those costs have appeared to have pulled back, he says, but not enough to keep the project on budget.

The city has no choice. It must replace the deteriorating 1950s era city hall. The only choice left is whether to build that new city hall with or without a Police Department.

"It isn't that the building is extravagant," says Silverboard. "It's just the cost of construction has gone up so much."

Without the projected 1,800 square feet of space needed for a police department, construction savings could be as much as a half-million dollars, Silverboard told the council Monday.

How much more the city could save by switching to the Sheriff's Office will be discussed at a yet-to-be-scheduled workshop session with Sheriff Jim Coats.

Ironically, the city's police officers have pushed for the city to switch to the sheriff, largely because they say the city is not willing to give its police officers a competitive salary.

Negotiations with the police union are at impasse and will be decided either by a mediator or the City Council.

The city's former police chief and a full-time police officer have already quit, and now work for the Sheriff's Office. Other city police officers want to leave as well.

But even if the City Council wanted to contract with the sheriff, it cannot, since the city's charter requires voter approval to abolish the Police Department.

One thing appears certain: If voters do not give the city the ability to contract out police services, homeowners could face a property tax increase to pay for the cost of a new city hall.

[Last modified November 7, 2006, 20:37:01]