California Cities Start Shutting Down Police Forces to Close Budget Gaps [View All]

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Source: Bloomberg

San Carlos, a Silicon Valley suburb that calls itself the City of Good Living, will hire contractors to maintain parks and negotiate with county officials to take over policing, becoming the latest California community eliminating basic services to close budget deficits.

Measures passed by the City Council last night may save the community of 28,000 residents about $2.5 million a year, according to Mayor Randy Royce. San Carlos faces a $3.5 million deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1, on a budget of $25.8 million.

About 70 percent of U.S. municipalities are cutting jobs to cope with declining tax revenue, according to a survey published last month by the National League of Cities in Washington. One in five communities cut public-safety spending and revised union contracts, and almost one-quarter reduced health care.

San Carlos’s council voted 4-1 to pursue discussions with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department on taking over the 32- member police force for the city located 24 miles (39 kilometers) south of San Francisco, according to Royce.


Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-29/california-cities-start-shutting-down-police-forces-to-close-budget-gaps.html