ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : The Right Call in San Clemente

There were some strong sentimental reasons for not disbanding a 65-year-old local police department, as the San Clemente City Council voted to do last week. It’s nice to have local control, and it’s nice to have your own department. Many communities in Orange County incorporated for just such reasons.

But these are not ordinary times, either. And it is very difficult to argue with the economic case put forward by the proponents of the merger with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, effective by July 1. If the city failed to make major budget cuts and the recession was prolonged, the city faced the prospect of having deficits of $1.8 million to $3 million in each of the next five years. Merging with the Sheriff’s Department would save the strapped city an estimated $4 million over the first two years alone.

There are other benefits, too. The agreement would keep the department’s 48 sworn officers on the job, unless they seek transfers, with pay raises of $10,000 to $14,000, and with seniority intact. It would increase the number of street patrol officers as much as 75% at night and 35% during the day, according to one estimate. Another 27 non-sworn employees would retain similar jobs under the merger. The Sheriff’s Department pledged to carry on community service programs.

On balance, the city would come out about as well as could be expected under any merger prompted by economic necessity. It may even come out ahead. Certainly, it is going to save millions.

And yet, the council acted under dire threat of recall drives and legal action by advocates of retaining a local force, even in the face of the indisputable bottom line. It’s understandable that many feel the decision is something of a retreat from a desirable concept--a unique, self-sufficient community. But a City Council is elected to make the tough decisions, especially in bad times.

This is not how all would have liked it to come out. But it is significant that service will be maintained while savings are realized. In a recession, that’s good government by any name.