The city of Yorba Linda currently contracts with the Brea Police Department, but is now ending the 42-year partnership due to a projected $3 million budget shortfall.
The move will help the city save a substantial amount of tax dollars, according to O.C. sheriff's Lt. Bob Wren, who will be Yorba Linda's police chief.
Sheriff Sandra Hutchens was able to undercut Brea's bid for police services. Yorba Linda will pay the sheriff's department $8.6 million annually instead of its inital bid of $9.8 million, less than Brea's two bids of $10.7 million and $10.3 million.
Hutchens said in April that her department can offer police services less expensively because of "economies of scale." The sheriff can spread out some expenses such as for investigators and dispatch centers, Hutchens said.
Yorba Linda's new department, however, had to acquire all new squad cars, desks, computers and other office supplies, Wren said, after ending the city's four-decade agreement with Brea police.
"I essentially had to equip a police department from the ground up," he said.
The equipment is set to cost the city $1.2 million throughout a five-year span.
The new department will remain operating from the Arroyo Park station.
"Yorba Linda is one of the safest communities in Orange County," Wren said. "As chief of police services, I promise that we will continue to work in partnership with the community to keep the crime rate low and maintain a safe, family-friendly environment."
CNS contributed to this report.
