Riverside County Sheriff’s Office To Increase Rates

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted today to hike the rates charged to cities and other entities that contract with the Sheriff’s Department for law enforcement services.

The rate increases, which will be retroactive to July 1, 2009, are needed to keep pace with rising operational costs, according to sheriff’s officials.

Under the revised rate schedule, the cost of a sheriff’s patrol deputy will increase from $117.30 to $121.97 per hour, a 4 percent jump from the previous year.

The cost of a sheriff’s patrol corporal will increase from $127.92 to $131.94 per hour, or about 3 percent; a sheriff’s lieutenant from $90.46 to $93.98 per hour, or 4 percent; and a sheriff’s captain from $104.48 to $108.61, also about 4 percent.

According to sheriff’s officials, the cost of staff benefits and equipment are included in the figures.

Coachella and Palm Desert are just two of several valley cities facing budget deficits. And both have different ways to deal with the rate increase.

Coachella is in debt nearly 2 million dollars, city officials said.

The city already had to cut three sheriff deputies.

Interim City Manager Gene Rodgers says the city will have enough money to pay the rate increase for this fiscal year. But he said if residents don’t pass a utility tax this June, the city will have to cut some more.

“Nothing will be off the table. We’ll probably be cutting everything we have,” said Rodgers.

Palm Desert spends 60 percent of it’s budget on the sheriff’s department, city officials said. It faces a budget deficit.

City leaders chose to layoff a dozen city employees to keep police on the streets.

It’s a sacrifice Mayor Cindy Finerty and the City Council was willing to make.

“Layoffs are never easy, obviously you’re affecting peoples lives but when you ask yourself would you rather have a first responder, a paramedic on the street, or a director of art. When bad guys come or you have health issues, who do you want to call?” said Finerty.

Sheriff Stan Sniff told the board during budget hearings last month that early retirements and a hiring freeze last year had left him with “threadbare” resources. The Sheriff’s Department is facing a 3 percent spending cut in the 2010-11 fiscal year.

But it remained unclear whether the reduction — among the smallest of any county agency — will precipitate layoffs.

Both cities hope the County Sheriff’s Department can tighten costs so they can avoid more layoffs.