Council Wants More Details on Outourcing Plan

In the face of vocal opposition to reducing police presence under a San Mateo County Sheriff's Office proposal, the Millbrae City Council on Tuesday requested more information and public involvement before deciding

Residents said that the sheriff's proposal to have two deputies patrol the city, compared to three officers now, wouldn't be enough and for little financial gain.

“We need public safety that people can feel comfortable with and feel safe with,” said Councilwoman Gina Papan. “The level of service that was suggested is not sufficient.”

Sheriff Greg Munks said his department could provide baseline police protection at a cost of $4.1 million annually and wouldn’t charge for additional resources brought in to respond to major crimes.

“You are looking at an insurance policy to cover everything in the city, whatever we would have to bring in,” Munks said.

The Sheriff’s Office already provides contract police services to county jurisdictions, including San Carlos and Half Moon Bay.

The sheriff's proposal would save the city about $167,000 in personnel costs, according to the city staff report, but the total full-time police employees would be reduced from about 30 to just over 16.

All full-time Millbrae police employees would be offered jobs with the Sheriff’s Office, Munks said.

Two deputies would patrol the city 24 hours a day, and a sergeant would supervise Millbrae 12 hours a day. Millbrae would share a sergeant with sheriff’s patrol for the other half of the day.

Sgt. Ron Gleeson said Millbrae consistently has calls that require more than two officers. “Two people can’t handle the city of Millbrae,” Gleeson said. “It’s impossible.”

After heavy scrutiny from Councilman Paul Seto, city staff revealed that overtime costs, vacation coverage and worker's compensation expenses were not reflected in the city's current personnel budget of about $4,258,000. Factoring in line items such as overtime and uniforms, the sheriff proposal could save the city $400,000 annually.

Councilmembers said they wanted to see more detailed figures that included these components so they could have an accurate comparison.

If the city doesn't go down the road of outsourcing, Chief Neil Telford has proposed increasing the police budget to about $410,000 a year to a total of $4.66 million, enough to sustain a full-time chief and commanders. Nelford said the current policing structure is unsustainable.

Millbrae has been sharing a police chief with San Bruno for the last year and half. But come Nov. 1, Telford plans to return to working full-time in San Bruno.

Robert Raw, president of the Millbrae Police Officer’s Association, said officers haven’t reached a consensus on which route the city should go but that indecision is not an option.

“The time for Band-Aid measures and kicking the can down the road must end with this City Council,” Raw said.

Still, other speakers suggested that the city should wait until the new before making a decision. With Mayor Dan Quigg and Paul Seto not running for reelection, the council will gain at least two new faces and potentially three if Marge Colapietro fails to retain her post.

The city plans to hold two townhall-style meetings (one during the week and one on a Saturday) to explore the future of its police force further.