Final Days of San Clemente Police Force Smooth, Sad : Transition: Except for cosmetic changes, most won’t notice when the department merges with the county, officials say. But officers are blue over the end of the 65-year-old agency.

The most obvious changes are the uniforms and the police cruisers.

The uniforms are now olive green instead of dark blue. The blue-and-white cars are being replaced by black-and-whites.

Otherwise, police say, residents here probably won’t see any dramatic differences Friday when their 65-year-old Police Department is officially disbanded and merged with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

“I’ll be honest, a lot of us probably would have preferred to remain a city’s department instead of joining a county one,” said Field Supervisor Sgt. Richard Corder during a morning patrol down the streets of San Clemente. “But, we’re professional law enforcement officers, and as far as I’m concerned, the public comes first, and we’ll do our best to make sure that the transition for them is trouble-free.”

As for themselves, the soon-to-be deputies said their transition has been smooth. In the last three weeks, they familiarized themselves with the sheriff’s paperwork, rules and regulations, all of which are not much different from their own, officers say. They were retested on their lifesaving and first-aid skills. They received new pistols.

“I guess that’s a difference: The sheriff’s people use 9-millimeter (weapons) and we use .45-calibers,” Corder said. “But there’s no significance there. They’re a different department, and they use a different gun than we do. They’re both handguns.”

All in all, officers said, for such a historic change it’s surprising that the visible differences are few.

“Our attitude as police officers serving the public remains the same,” said Lt. William Trudeau, a 21-year veteran on the force. “Only the name has changed.”

But the officers are mindful that an important chapter in the annals of San Clemente is about to close.

“I just picked up my new uniform the other day and there’s kind of a sadness in that,” Corder said. “It’s a final act.”

Meanwhile, residents who are upset that the City Council voted for the merger instead of putting the issue on a ballot continue their recall drive against four council members.

“Their vote is a symptom of the disease that’s pervading City Hall,” said Darlene Novak, a resident who works with the recall drive. “These leaders took it upon themselves to go for the Sheriff’s Department without consideration for the citizens.”

In February, facing budget problems exacerbated by the winter storms that damaged a spate of city properties, council members said they were forced to merge the 48-member Police Department with the Sheriff’s Department to save the city $4 million over the next two years.

City officials estimate that the Police Department would cost $7.9 million for fiscal 1993-94. The sheriff’s contract will cost $2 million less and promises more manpower and the same services and programs. Also under the terms of the contract, police employees who applied to the Sheriff’s Department and passed medical examinations were offered positions and could choose work in the city.

Two officers decided against joining the Sheriff’s Department. They could not be reached for comment.

After examining the contracts, many police officers concurred that the merger was the best solution for themselves, their department and this city, which has undergone dramatic misfortunes in the past couple of years.

“For years now, we’ve always been shorthanded, and the last 2 1/2 years, the city wasn’t filling vacancies because there was no money,” said canine patrol Officer Frank Becerra, who has been with the force four years. “We’ve doubled our workload and we’re not up to par as far as pay in the county. Now, that is changing.”

According to the contract, once the officers become deputies they will individually receive a pay raise of at least $10,000 a year.

San Clemente joins Stanton, Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, San Juan Capistrano and Dana Point in contracting for police services with the 1,200-member Sheriff’s Department. Laguna Beach remains the only city in South County with its own Police Department.

With their uncertainties about the merger and what it means for them now laid to rest, some officers nonetheless opined on the merits of working for a smaller department and lamented that a city would lose a part of its history.

“In a smaller department, your individuality and your ability to make an input are recognized and heard,” said Lt. Trudeau. “We’re going to lose some of that.”

Added senior patrol Officer William Smith: “It’s a reality check. We only have a week left of a 65-year-old tradition, and if that’s not a sad thought, I don’t know what is.”

Smith, a 14-year police veteran, worries about the possible loss of the camaraderie officers in the department have developed over the years.

“I was one of 40-something people; now, I’m one of a thousand,” he said. “I could spend my career at the Sheriff’s Department and never see them all. Here, that doesn’t happen.”

He added: “I will give 100% to the Sheriff’s Department--no one will question that. But, nothing will change the fact that what was once a small-town Police Department is now gone.”

While the officers count down the days until the merger, new green uniforms and black-and-white cruisers are arriving daily.

“I’ll get used to the new uniform,” Trudeau said. “In a couple of weeks, seeing myself in green is just like seeing myself in blue. What I’m going to miss is our blue-and-white cars with the name San Clemente Police Department. “