Sheriff Rates Increase for Contract Cities

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors signed off today on a sheriff's department plan to hike the rates that cities and other entities which contract with the agency for law enforcement services are charged.

In a 5-0 vote, the Board of Supervisors without comment approved the rate increases, retroactive to July 1, 2011, which sheriff's officials say are needed to recoup the higher costs incurred by the department over the past year.

While Murrieta has its own police department, its neighboring cities all contract with the Sheriff's Department.

Under the revised rate schedule, the cost of a sheriff's patrol deputy will rise from $125.37 per hour to $126.74, a 1.1 percent jump from the previous year.

The cost of a sheriff's patrol corporal will increase from $134.37 per hour to $135.53 per hour, or about 1 percent; a sheriff's sergeant from $86.51 to $92.39, or 6.8 percent; a lieutenant from $98.50 to $106.03, or 7.6 percent; and a sheriff's captain from $111.13 to $120.51, about 8 percent.

The cost of staff benefits, support and equipment are priced into the figures.

In a few cases, costs will be going down, with the hourly rate of a sheriff's investigator falling from $72.23 to $69.13 per hour, and a first- level 911 dispatcher dropping from $36.60 to $35.13 per hour.

Under the new rate plan, nine cities and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians will be required to pay increased lump sum fees for the sheriff's use of facilities dedicated to servicing the communities.

The largest percentage increase will be borne by Coachella, which will be billed $95,040 in facilities costs, compared with $82,614 the previous year - - an approximately 15 percent jump that sheriff's officials attributed to higher expenses at the Indio station, whose deputies patrol Coachella.

Temecula will save $97,351 per year in facility costs.

The city of Perris will bear the highest facilities fee in dollars and cents: $451,905, down from $458,286 in the previous fiscal year.

Higher fees will also be imposed on the community service districts served by the department.

Sheriff Stan Sniff said last month that he expects to end 2011-12 with a balanced budget. But county public safety administrators are unanimous in their expectation that higher costs lay ahead due to "realignment," under which the governor and Legislature shifted a number of functions previously handled by the state to counties.

One of the biggest burdens is a requirement that individuals convicted of crimes that fall into the non-violent, non-serious, non-sexually oriented category, and whose principal offense results in a sentence of three years or less, are to be incarcerated in county jails.

Sniff said local correctional facilities are nearly filled to capacity on most days.