County Sheriff’s Protection : Santa Clarita Gets 2 Policing Proposals

Two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department proposals for providing police protection to the City of Santa Clarita were unveiled Friday.

One proposal calls for the city to pay the county $4.7 million annually for basic patrol services. The other calls for an annual payment of $5.9 million for broader services.

There is “a very strong probability” that Santa Clarita will contract with the county for police service, City Manager Fredrick Bien said. The price of such service will constitute the single largest item on the city’s first budget, which Bien said he plans to submit to the City Council within the next three weeks.

Bien said he has not determined what option he will recommend to the council. The city’s first-year budget, he said, could range from $10 million to $20 million.

Council members Jan Heidt and Dennis Koontz said they plan to determine the city’s law-enforcement needs by studying recent Sheriff’s Department crime statistics and by holding public hearings on the budget during May.

The two Sheriff’s Department proposals were based on projected costs during the 1987-88 fiscal year, which ends June 30. Since Santa Clarita’s costs would accrue in the following fiscal year, “we know the figures will increase,” Bien said.

For $4.7 million, the Sheriff’s Department would provide a police force of 53 deputies, most of them assigned to street patrol and traffic enforcement. For $5.9 million, the force would consist of 70 deputies, including some assigned to community relations, drug prevention, schools and a team dealing with special crime problems or investigations.