Supervisors Agree To Sheriff's Request To Increase Rates In Contract Cities

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors today approved a 2.8 percent rate hike for cities – like Palm Desert – that contract with the county sheriff's department for law enforcement services.

The rate increases will be retroactive to July 1, 2010, and are needed to cover higher costs from last year, according to county documents.

David Hermann, a Palm Desert spokesman, said the rate hike has already been accounted for in the proposed 2011-12 fiscal year budget.

“It was part of our budget and deliberation process,’’ Hermann said, adding that the county presented the rate increase in March.

“It’s part of their contract that they get an annual increase,’’ he said.

In March, the Palm Desert Public Safety Commission the City Council approve the proposed $16.6 million budget for the city’s police department.

The council was expected to vote on that budget in June.

According to Lt. Andrew Shouse, the police department’s projected costs are up more than $316,800 because of an anticipated increase in fuel costs and additional funds needed to run the newly constructed Palm Desert Station.

The station, located in north Palm Desert, is 250 percent bigger than the old station and may cost up to $405,000 to operate. The old substation on Fred Waring Drive only cost $240,000 to run, according Shouse.

Sheriff Stan Sniff announced earlier this month that more than 500 patrol and correctional deputies could be laid off to close a $30 million to $60 million deficit in the agency's 2011-12 budget.

The layoffs would be concentrated in the unincorporated communities and the jails, not in contract cities.

City News Service contributed to this report.