The change over costs would be quites small. San Carlos went through the process last year:
From The Millbrae Patch -
"Before contracting out services, San Carlos employed 32 sworn officers, and the city spent about $8.9 million per year on its police department. After outsourcing, there are now 19 sworn officers, and its annual costs are about $2 million less.
The Sheriff’s Office hired all San Carlos police department employees – many of them work in the county jail now. Nine original officers remain patrolling San Carlos.
Although there are fewer officers in San Carlos, the level of service has remained about the same, according to a Sept. 12 City of San Carlos study.
Rothaus said it is because the city does not need to hire extra cops to cover shifts for those sick or on-leave.
The average emergency response time has not changed, and Part 1 crimes, such as rapes, murders, aggravated assault and robbery, have decreased slightly.
The San Carlos Police Department had a better property crime solving rate, while the Sheriff’s Office is more effective with violent crimes, according to the study.
Felony arrests increased about 35 percent since the transition, in part due to more regular checks of probationers and parolees conducted by the Sheriff’s Office, Rothaus said.
San Carlos conducted two surveys measuring resident’s satisfaction with the Sheriff’s Office. Out of the 102 surveys completed, citizens were 98 percent satisfied with services. "
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The County already operates a county wide dispatch system that serves both the Sheriff and ALL of the fire agencies in the county including MPFPD (which started the county wide fire dispatch consolidation movement) so there would be zero cost of adding MP police dispatch.
Some of the existing MP Police Department space would probably be needed by the Sheriff for a substation but at least part of the existing space would be surplus and hence available for other uses.
And however 'thin' the Sheriff's service may be in the unincorporated areas in the contract areas each contracting city gets to choose its own level of service. Woodside contracts for more officers and pays more, but still far less than Menlo Park. And the same officers are assigned to Woodside on a continuing basis.
Here are the comparative costs:
Agencies which have their own Police Department:
Atherton
As of the census of 2000, there were
7,194 people
4.9 square miles (12.8 km²)
Police budget $4.9 M
$681 per capita
Redwood City
As of the census[1] of 2008, there were
75,508 people
34.6 sq miles
Police budget $31.7 M
$419 per capita
Palo Alto
As of the census of 2000, there were 58,598
people
23.7 sq miles
Police budget $29M
$494 per capita
Foster City
As of the census of 2000, there are 28,803
people
The city has a total area of 19.9 square
miles (51.6 km²), of which 3.8 square miles
(9.7 km²) is land and 16.2 square miles
(41.9 km²) is water.
Police budget $9.6 M
$333 per capita
Burlingame
As of the census of 2000, there were 28,158
people
The city has a total area of 15.6 km² (6.0 mi²).
11.2 km² (4.3 mi²) of it is land and 4.4 km²
(1.7 mi²) of it (28.19%) is water.
Police budget $9.5M
$337 per capita
Hillsborough
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were
10,825 people
The town has a total area of 6.2 square miles
(16.1 km²), all of it land.
Police budget $8M
$739 per capita
Los Altos
The population was 27,693 according to the
2000 census.
6.3 square miles (16.4 km²).
Police dept budget $13.46 M
$485 per capita
Menlo Park
As of the census of 2000, there were 30,785
people
17.4 square miles (45 km2), of which
10.1 square miles (26 km2) is land
and 7.3 square miles (19 km2) is water. Police services budget $14.69 M
$477.148 per capita
East Palo Alto
As of the census of 2009, there were 35,791 people,
2.6 square miles (6.7 km²), of which 2.5 square miles (6.6 km²) are land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.78%) are water.
Police budget $10,262,651
$287 per capita
Agencies which contract out their police services:
Saratoga
The population was 30,318 at the 2007 census.
The city has a total area of 21.1 square miles
(31.4 km²)
Police costs via County Sheriff $4.34 M
$143 per capita
Woodside
11.8 square miles (30.5 km²)
As of the census of 2000, there were
5,352 people
Police services via County Sheriff $1.3 M
$242 per capita
new contract 2012/13
The Woodside Town Council approved a budget that included ■ Sheriff's contract: A council majority approved a three-year $1.45 million law enforcement contract with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. Unlike the annual jumps of 10 percent in previous contracts, this one rises by 4 percent for the first year and 3 percent after that.
The population of Woodside is 5287 as of the 2010 census or a cost of $274 per capita.
Portola Valley
The population was 4,462 at the 2000 census
9.2 square miles (23.7 km²)
Police services via Sheriff $498,601
$111 per capita
San Carlos
The population was 27.238 in 2008
5.93 square miles
Police services via proposed Sheriff's contract
$6.8 M
$248.62 per capita
Arguments against outsourcing? Fear of change.
