SAN CLEMENTE : Sheriff’s Pact With San Clemente OKd

County Supervisors on Tuesday approved the Sheriff’s Department’s July 1 takeover of law enforcement in the city of San Clemente, whose police force has fallen victim to municipal budget cuts.

Although officials promise that residents will barely notice the changeover, the elimination of the city’s 65-year-old Police Department may be the most tangible loss suffered by a local government during the recession.

“I hope that this decision would begin a healing process,” Councilman Scott Diehl said, referring to what has been a divisive issue for city residents, some of whom have called for the ouster of council members and a local referendum on the matter.

As presented to the board, the $5.7-million contract for sheriff’s protection is expected to save the city $2.1 million annually. All but “three or four” of the city’s 68 officers would take new positions as deputies with the Sheriff’s Department, the councilman said.

“There will be a a substantial savings in dollars . . . and the level of service may even be improved,” Diehl told the supervisors.

Under the plan, the city’s police headquarters building would remain open for residents to file reports and dispatch operations. About the only physical change in service, officials said, would be the change of officers’ uniforms.

Although no one spoke in opposition to the plan at the board meeting Tuesday, the issue has prompted some residents to launch a recall drive against Mayor Truman Benedict and council members Joseph Anderson, Candace Haggard and Diehl. All four have supported the contract with the Sheriff’s Department.

The opposition group, known as Citizens for a Better San Clemente, is also trying to place an initiative on the ballot that would overturn the June 4 City Council approval of the law enforcement contract.

In a written statement issued Tuesday, the citizens’ group said residents have been denied the opportunity to review terms of the final contract and “elected officials did not allow this matter to be put to a vote” of the people.

Following the board vote, Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez said the action may only prompt more cities to look to the county for help as budget reductions cut even deeper into municipal services.

Vasquez and Supervisors Thomas F. Riley and Roger R. Stanton said they were aware of at least one additional city that may be contemplating a similar merger but that city was not identified.

“When you start disassembling fire and police departments in cities, we as a county are going to have to evaluate how far we can go in absorbing all these services,” Vasquez said.