SEAL BEACH : City to Help Pay for Consolidation Study

The city will spend $13,167 for a consultant to study the proposed consolidation of Seal Beach’s police communications system with those of Los Alamitos and Cypress.

The City Council recently approved funding for the study. The cost of the report is being shared by all three cities.

Officials hope consolidating the communications systems will save money at a time when Seal Beach’s budget shortfall tops $1 million.

The consultant, Warner Group, will examine both the financial and service impacts of a consolidation. The possible merging of records departments will be analyzed as well.

The report will also discuss where a central communications center should be located and whether the existing radio systems must be modernized.

City Manager Jerry L. Bankston said that even if the consolidation doesn’t occur, the report will provide useful data about the Police Department. He said such a study would cost Seal Beach as much as $30,000 if other cities were not sharing the bill.

Seal Beach’s Police Department has three dispatchers and 40 sworn officers. The city has a population of 27,000, spread over 12.5 square miles.

By contrast, Cypress--with a population of 44,218 and a staff of nine dispatchers and 53 officers--covers 7.2 square miles.