BREA : Yorba Linda to Look at Police Contract

Officials say they are confident they will keep the $5.1-million contract to provide police services for Yorba Linda, despite that city’s decision to study possible alternatives.

“We’re cooperating in their study. We understand their need,” said Assistant City Manager Tim O’Donnell. “It makes good business sense to look at this (police services contract) periodically.”

O’Donnell said Brea officials are not worried about losing the contract. “We’re offering a competitive cost for a very high level of service,” he said.

Last week, the Yorba Linda City Council hired a consultant, Hughes, Heiss & Associates, to analyze the contract with Brea, study the possibility of establishing its own police force and evaluate alternative sources of law enforcement.

The consultant will be paid $36,000 to conduct the study, which the council requested in August after Brea increased the cost of providing police services from $4.7 million to $5.1 million for the 1992-93 fiscal year.

Yorba Linda council members also wanted to have input in the negotiations between Brea and the Brea Police Officers Assn. on salaries and benefits.

Yorba Linda Councilmen Mark Schwing and Daniel T. Welch said their city had routinely approved the police services contract without having a “role in the negotiations.”

O’Donnell said that Yorba Linda’s senior management staff members are “briefed during the negotiation process, so they know what is going on.”

“We keep them in the loop,” he said. “But in matters relating to conditions of employment, it’s between the city of Brea and the police association.”

O’Donnell said Brea officials address negotiation issues that Yorba Linda wants addressed. “The way to influence how we are compensating (Brea officers) is to react to the contract,” he said. “If the cost is too high, they don’t have go with us.”

Yorba Linda Assistant City Manager David Gruchow said the study is a “reality check” and does not indicate dissatisfaction with the police services Brea is providing.

“We wanted to know if we’re receiving the best service with the money we’re paying and what are the alternatives,” Gruchow said.

He said the study is expected to be completed in May.

The Brea Police Department, with 132 employees, including 82 police officers, is undergoing an audit, O’Donnell said. A consultant, Ralph Anderson & Associates, is looking into staffing and service levels, management control and communications practices and how to make the department more efficient.

O’Donnell said that the audit is expected to be completed in March and that Yorba Linda will be provided with a copy.