City Officials Express Concern Over Police Rate Hike

Photo courtesy of City of Menifee

They knew it was coming, but that didn't make it any easier for Menifee city officials to accept an increase in cost of public safety approved by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors this week.

County supervisors on Wednesday approved a 7.46 percent increase in the cost of Sheriff's Department deputies to the 17 cities in the county that contract with the department -- including Menifee. The cost per deputy will increase from $149.09 to $160.22 per hour. This follows a 7 percent increase the previous year.

According to an article in the Valley News, Sheriff Stan Sniff's request for the increase cited increasing costs to the department in salaries, benefits, equipment and other factors. The Sheriff's Department reportedly faced a $25 million shortfall. But to city officials such as those in Menifee, the increased cost is severely hampering their attempts to hire more officers through the Sheriff's Department.

"The year-over-year aggregate increases in the law enforcement contract passed onto us by the County Board of Supervisors and the Sheriff's Department are unsustainable for the City of Menifee without corrective action," Menifee Mayor Scott Mann (left) told Menifee 24/7 in an email. "These aggregate increases, coupled with an annual $4.2 million loss in Motor Vehicle License Fee revenue caused by Governor Brown's signing of SB 89 in 2011, has created a structural budget deficit for the City."

The City of Menifee pays $11.4 million per year to the Sheriff's Department for police services -- roughly 40 percent of the general fund. According to a report to the City Council by former police chief Mike Judge in 2014, that pays for a total of 23 Sheriff's deputies -- an average of 10-15 officers a day in three shifts. That works out to less than .5 officers per 1,000 residents -- about half of county guidelines.

According to a document presented to the City Council in February, violent crimes in Menifee have risen from 64 in 2010 to 107 in 2014, the last year for which complete numbers are available. Property crimes have risen from 1,339 in 2010 to 1,501 in 2014.

There is a sense of urgency to put more officers on the streets, and city officials say the continual rate increases make it very difficult to do so.

"We do not have a spending problem, we have a revenue problem caused by entities and agencies outside the control and lifelines of the City of Menifee," Mann said. "To simply keep all city services, public safety, and staffing at the same level as Fiscal Year 2015/16, we will have no choice but to tap into City reserves. It will take a combination of gritty leadership and knowledgeable understanding by residents to make some serious, collective choices in the coming months."

Various options are being considered to determine how the rate increase will be covered, not to mention paying for additional officers. Residents hate to hear the word "taxes", but city officials say an additional tax might be necessary to cover public safety costs.

Last month the City Council directed City Manager Rob Johnson to work with a consulting firm in setting up a series of surveys and other forms of outreach to determine what residents think about proposals being considered to fund additional police manpower. Results of that study will be presented to the council at its 7 p.m. meeting on June 1.

Options residents were asked to consider were a 1 percent sales tax increase; a 1 percent public safety sales tax; a utility user tax; and a ballot measure to determine whether residents want the city to create its own police department.

At the May 18 City Council meeting, Johnson reported some preliminary results reported by the firm Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates. He said of 400 registered voters surveyed, 55 percent considered a 1 percent sales tax a viable option.

Menifee City Council member Matt Liesemeyer (right) found it ironic that the Board of Supervisors approved the rate increase the same week many city officials from the affected cities (including Menifee) were in Las Vegas at the International Conference of Shopping Centers, working to attract more business that would generate tax revenue to help pay for public safety.

"When I saw the article reporting their $25 million dollar shortfall, I was blown away," said Liesemeyer. "Reporters went on to say that there was nobody there in opposition, but the truth is, Mayor Scott Mann, myself, City Manager Johnson, and other senior staff were out of town at a convention fighting for commerce to come to our city so that we could afford, among things, the rising costs of public safety.

"This year our Sheriff contract went from $10.9 million to $11.4 million, with no change in staffing. Our fire contract went from $8.24 million to $9.3 million, again with no changes in staffing. That $20 million figure makes up over 65 percent of our total budget. We cannot sustain these types of increases, and the public safety committee (Liesemeyer and council member Greg August) has begun discussions about possible solutions."

August (left) echoed the concerns of Mann and Liesemeyer.

"I am not a believer in tapping into reserves, but if it will keep the city from having to lay off staff, police, or closing down a fire station, I guess I am in," August told Menifee 24/7. "I can’t overstate the calamity caused by the loss of VLF, representing approximately 15 percent of the city’s general fund. The safe and responsible management of the city is unable, under present circumstances, to overcome that loss."

Wednesday's 7 p.m. City Council meeting will be preceded by a 6 p.m. budget workshop.