Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Palmdale Looks to Renew Sheriff’s Contract for 1 Year : Finances: The City Council is expected to approve the deal tonight, then evaluate concerns about the department’s cost-effectiveness in coming months.

City officials, worried that Palmdale is not getting its money’s worth, have proposed signing a one-year contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, rather than the five-year pact requested by the department.

The one-year agreement is expected to be approved by the Palmdale City Council at a meeting tonight.

Then, city staff members plan to spend three or four months evaluating how the department is spending the $8 million Palmdale will hand over for law enforcement services during fiscal 1994-95.

“What we want to do is make sure we’re getting what we contracted for, and that we’re getting the biggest bang for the dollars we’re providing,” said Deputy City Administrator Ron Creagh, who will oversee the audit.

Council members sharply debated Sheriff’s Department expenses during the summer while seeking to approve a city budget for the fiscal year that began July 1. The budget includes money to pay the county-run agency to serve as Palmdale’s police department.

Council members ultimately agreed to put more deputies on the street for crime patrols. But the council also voted to replace the deputies who oversee anti-drug education and Neighborhood Watch programs with less expensive civilian workers.

During the budget hearings, several council members complained that it is difficult to determine how the Sheriff’s Department spends the dollars it receives from Palmdale.

“With the Sheriff’s Department, typically we don’t know what we’ve spent until we get billed,” Mayor Jim Ledford said Tuesday. “I don’t know too many people who contract for something without knowing what they’re paying for.”

Those concerns led to the abbreviated agreement being considered by the council tonight and the upcoming audit of sheriff’s services. As part of the study, Palmdale officials will also try to determine whether it would be more cost-effective to start a city-run police department.

Ledford insisted that the review “is not meant to be punitive,” and Sheriff’s Department administrators expressed confidence that the audit will show the city’s dollars are being spent properly.

“The city of Palmdale is not getting shorted in any way,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Dave Collin, commander of the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station. “Radio cars that are being paid for by the city of Palmdale are being used in the city of Palmdale.”

Lt. Margaret Cheney, who assists in talks between the Sheriff’s Department and the 41 cities that contract for its services, said Palmdale is one of several communities that have opted for one-year agreements while reviewing expenses. As local budgets become tighter, Cheney said she understands why such studies are being launched.

“Any city would be foolhardy not to look at how their money is being spent,” she said.