Hermosa Votes to Keep Police Force : Law enforcement: The council scraps the idea of trying to save money by contracting sheriff’s services and instead will look for ways to cut 10% from the police budget.

Ending months of acrimonious debate, the Hermosa Beach City Council on Tuesday unanimously agreed to maintain the city’s 42-officer police force and shelve a proposal that would have turned over law enforcement in the tiny beach town to the county Sheriff’s Department.

Before an overflow crowd, the council heard an outpouring of support for local policing as residents and business owners lined up at the microphone to lobby the council against the cost-cutting proposal. A large contingent of police officers and supporters stood in the back of the council chambers wearing T-shirts that read: “Keep the Hermosa Beach Police Department.”

After agreeing to shelve the sheriff’s proposal, the council formed a committee that in the next 90 days will investigate ways to cut 10% from the department’s $5.2-million budget. Several residents volunteered to serve on the group, and union officials representing police officers and civilian employees said they look forward to working with the city on trimming the budget.

“There was a big question mark in our future that has been removed,” said Detective Bruce Phillips, president of the Hermosa Beach Police Officers’ Assn. “I feel a sense of relief--just not to have to fight it any more. It’s like 10 pounds off your shoulders.”

In February, the council authorized a $3,500 study to determine whether sheriff’s deputies--who patrol 42 cities throughout the county--would be less expensive than the current city force. The move came during tough contract negotiations with the police union, convincing many officers that the sheriff’s study was a negotiating ploy.

The city had initially estimated it could save $1.9 million with the Sheriff’s Department, but an internal sheriff’s study forecast the savings at about $1 million. The cost comparisons between the two departments became bogged down in statistics, with the police union commissioning a study that showed deputies would actually be costlier than the city’s current force. The union’s report put the city’s cost for service by Hermosa Beach police at 73 cents a minute per officer, compared to $1.23 for the sheriff’s deputies.

When city officials scrutinized all the figures, they still estimated the savings of hiring sheriff’s deputies could be about $1 million the first year, but emphasized the comparisons between the two departments were still unclear. They also said the cost of contracting with the Sheriff’s Department would probably rise in subsequent years to reduce the savings.

Council members defended their examination of the city’s police services as a responsible attempt to save city dollars. They insisted that they never intended to unilaterally replace the police force. Rather, council members said, they wanted to see if the Sheriff’s Department could provide police services at a lower cost. And if it could, the council said it would let the voters decide the issue at the polls.

“The reason why the council went for this study is nothing more than looking at the cost of this Police Department,” Councilman Albert Wiemans said. “We’re trying to be prudent fiduciaries. We’re trying to see that we get a dollar’s worth for every dollar spent.”

Councilman Chuck Sheldon went further, saying that saving money was just one of the reasons he authorized the study. He charged that rank-and-file officers were out of control and did not follow orders.

“We got to this point because this council, and particularly this councilman, was very dissatisfied with this Police Department,” Sheldon said. “I don’t think we’re getting our money’s worth.”

But those who addressed the council Tuesday said the idea of replacing the community police force never should have been considered. They said it had damaged morale among officers and angered many residents who feared a huge bureaucracy would replace a group of officers many knew by name.

“They’ve just been a sensational force,” said Mike Lacey, owner of the Comedy and Magic Club. “Whenever we need them, they’re there. . . . I just think it’s incredibly important to keep them.”

Other supporters said they feared that deputies would not know the community as well as Hermosa Beach’s officers. Supporters also expressed concern that the deputies would be more aggressive because of their experience in higher crime areas and less likely to respond to loud parties and other seemingly minor calls.

Edie Webber, a former mayor who wore a pro-police T-shirt, said everyone she knows supports the department. “I have not run into anybody, not one solitary person, that has not said, ‘No, we don’t want this (change).’ ”

The council’s vote eliminates one of the most talked-about issues in the ongoing campaign for two City Council seats, which are being vacated by Sheldon and Councilman Roger Creighton. All nine active candidates have spoken out against replacing the police force, and the police union has played an active role in lobbying for a pro-police candidate.

In the center of the debate over the sheriff’s proposal was Steve Wisniewski, the city’s public safety director who is currently filling in as city manager.

At the council’s direction, Wisniewski drew up the original cost comparisons between the city police force and the sheriff’s deputies that estimated a significant savings with the deputies. Angry Hermosa Beach officers argued that Wisniewski was recommending abolishing the department, but Wisniewski said he was simply following orders by gathering the facts.

On Tuesday, it was Wisniewski’s recommendation that the idea of hiring the Sheriff’s Department be dropped that was adopted by the council.