City OKs Pact With County for Police Service : Law enforcement: San Clemente will be served by the Sheriff’s Department, which will hire nearly all the local officers.

Capping months of emotional debate, a City Council majority gave final approval Monday to a $5.8-million contract to merge the 65-year-old local police force with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department starting next month.

By contracting for services with the Sheriff’s Department, the financially troubled city will save $2.1 million in the coming fiscal year, officials said.

In a 4-1 vote, the council approved a one-year contract with the Sheriff’s Department, a controversial move council members described as difficult but necessary to deal with severe budget problems.

Councilman Thomas Lorch remained in dissent, saying residents should have a chance to vote on whether they would be willing to pay more to keep the local department.

The contract is expected to reach the County Board of Supervisors for approval next week.

Before and during the special City Council meeting, about 15 residents carried banners reading “Let San Clemente Vote” and “Clean Up City Hall . . . Recall” in protest of the merger. Another group of residents carried anti-recall signs.

In March, soon after the council majority voted to pursue a police services contract with the Sheriff’s Department, angry residents and business owners launched a recall drive against Mayor Truman Benedict and council members Joseph Anderson, Scott Diehl and Candace Haggard.

The group is also trying to get a voters’ initiative onto the ballot that would overturn the council’s decision.

Many others in the community, however, applauded the council’s action, saying the city can’t afford to miss out on the savings and increases in service offered by contracting with the county for police services.

Except for a change in uniform color and the presence of more officers on the street, officials have said residents will not notice anything different as a result of the merger.

Even the employees will virtually stay the same, as all but two of the 67 San Clemente police employees who applied will be hired by the Sheriff’s Department, officials said.

As requested by the city, the police station will also remain open to the public 24 hours a day, and all emergency dispatching will be handled from the same local facility. All local community police programs, such as the Retired Senior Volunteer Service, will continue.

For the future, the Sheriff’s Department will study the possible use of the San Clemente police facility as a regional dispatch and jail booking center, a move officials said would only lower the city’s contract price.

The City Council would have ultimate approval of any recommendations made in the study, which is expected to take six months to complete.