Taxpayers Aren’t Bottomless Money Pit
The threat of dissolving the Hermosa Beach Police Force in favor of the Sheriff’s Department is only the latest example of ineptitude demonstrated by the City Council. It is no wonder, after hiking up the Police Department budget 42%, nearly $1 million over a period of two years, that a study would indicate that savings can be had by contracting with the Sheriff’s Department.
When will the City Council get their heads out of the sand and realize that taxpayers are not a bottomless money pit. First and foremost, paying $3,500 for a study by the Sheriff’s Department, to determine the feasibility of contracting with the Sheriff’s Department, is tantamount to paying a person to determine whether that person is worth paying. Secondly, dealing with a monopolistic entity for police services is essentially mortgaging the future of the city’s services with no recourse of action and no oversight of management.
Perhaps the most glaring lesson to be learned from this worthless endeavor, is that given a lack of proper managerial oversight over the department chief, the budget will expand in an exponential manner.
Threatening the citizens with the choice between tax increases and contracting with the Sheriff’s Department by one of the outgoing council members, is proof of the infectious lack of fiduciary responsibility within city government.
ROBERT BENZ
Manhattan Beach
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