SAN CLEMENTE

The City Council recently accepted a grant from the state Office of Traffic Safety to pay for the addition of a full-time Orange County Sheriff’s Department patrol deputy.

The two-year grant of nearly $212,500 covers all of the deputy’s expenses, including equipment and employee benefits, during the first year. The city is required to foot half the deputy’s $60,000 salary during the second year of the grant.

Lt. Fred Lisanti, San Clemente’s chief of police services, told the council that the new deputy will often be used on night patrols in an effort to curb drunk driving.