Twin Cities, San Anselmo Merge Police Services

After years of discussion about possible consolidation, the finalized a plan to consolidate dispatch and support services with another nearby police authority Tuesday night, Aug. 9. 

But, despite original conversations , San Anselmo is not partnering with its neighbor to the west. The council approved a contract last night to share support and dispatch services with the Twin Cities Police Authority.

“As someone who was somewhat skeptical of consolidating with the town to the west, I’m glad you looked south,” said Council Member Jeff Kroot.

Although the studied consolidation with Fairfax left a foul taste in both towns’ mouths – , the proposed merger with Twin Cities has everyone smiling.

“I don’t just think it’s a good idea financially, but consolidation makes the department better not weaker,” said San Anselmo resident Doug Kelly at Tuesday night’s town council meeting. “Shared services come with shared experiences, shared knowledge.” 

The plan, , capitalizes on the fact that the Twin Cities dispatchers have been using the San Anselmo facility since construction began on a new Twin Cities Police building.

“We found that that relationship was very positive,” said San Anselmo Police Chief Charles Maynard.

Currently, the dispatch employees are cross-trained, enabling them to work for both the Twin Cities Police Authority and the San Anselmo Police Department. This allows the other agency’s employees to be hired at an hourly wage for vacation or as reserves, instead of paying overtime. Additionally, San Anselmo Captain Nick Valeri has been managing the communications and records for both police departments.

The ties between the agencies are intertwined already, with San Anselmo Captain Jim Providenza serving as the project consultant on the new Twin Cities dispatch center, because of his experience with relocating and constructing dispatch centers. And, San Anselmo Administrative Services Technician, who works Monday through Thursday, has been working an additional part-time job on Fridays as Twin Cities Police Authority Chief Todd Cusimano’s assistant.

Under the approved agreement, the support services divisions would be merged into one division with the following effects:

• The costs of a division captain and dispatch supervisor would be shared between the agencies, saving San Anselmo $51,619 annually, immediately.
• San Anselmo’s dispatch center, built after the flood, would be relocated to the Twin Cities Police Authority’s new center in March 2012. The number of San Anselmo dispatchers would be reduced by one through known attrition, saving $113,313 annually.
• Over ten years, San Anselmo expects to save $25,000 in equipment and infrastructure costs because of the relocation.
• Using the larger reserve pool of officers and dispatchers to work on an hourly and non-benefited basis, instead of paying overtime, is projected to save the town $50,000 annually.

In addition, said Maynard, there were a number of benefits that would come at no cost to San Anselmo:

• San Anselmo would gain the services of an additional Support Services Lieutenant, out of the Twin Cities, who would assist in personnel and resources management and conduct internal affairs investigations.
• Evidence would be stored in new, secure facilities in the Twin Cities.
• Investigative units would be combined for major cases, with additional resources and detectives.

Nearly everyone in attendance was supportive of the move, coming after a push by the town for every department to look at innovative ways to save money.

“This really is landmark for the Ross Valley,” said Peter Breen.

Council Member Kay Coleman had previously expressed concern that the officers would not be available in San Anselmo, but said, after meeting with representatives from the Twin Cities and talking over the proposal with the chief, she supported it.

The front desk at the San Anselmo Police Department would only be open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hours, residents could speak with on-duty personnel through a phone and be buzzed in if necessary.

Guy Meyer also expressed some concern that the arrangement would divide the police force and spread them too thin.

“When the computer lines go down over there, what happens? Where does the loyalty lay?” he said. “In an emergency, where does the captain who serves as both, go?”

But, Maynard said there are redundancies built in to the system and in an emergency it would actually be beneficial to have more officers. In the 2005 flood, when San Anselmo was hit but the Twin Cities weren’t, an arrangement like this would have brought help to the town faster.

“I don’t think we’re giving anything up,” said Council Member Tom McInerney.