Negotiating time is running low between Los Altos Hills and Santa Clara County over a new law enforcement services contract, as several cost-related issues remain unresolved.
Los Altos Hills’ contract with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office expires at the end of June, and the town’s annual contract costs will rise from approximately $2.76 million to $3.65 million starting July 1 under the county’s proposal, a 30% increase. Previous policing costs rose at approximately 5% per year under previous agreements. The rising costs are attributed to labor, state-mandated training, public records obligations and additional technology needs, according to a website set up by the town to explain the issue. Overhead cost reallocation is also cited, as the county argues that previous contracts did not fully cover actual costs and that county taxpayers were having to subsidize police services in areas like Los Altos Hills.
The town has raised concerns about the total and overhead costs. Los Altos Hills Mayor Rajiv Bhateja said approximately $1.5 million of the $3.65 million proposal is attributable to patrol deputy costs. The rest covers overhead costs, including West Valley Station facility fiscal services, IT services, internal affairs and records. Bhateja felt there was a lack of clarity about overhead costs and a disproportionate allocation to Los Altos Hills. He also argued that Los Altos Hills’ county property and sales tax should be considered for overhead costs.
“$2 million is just overhead, which is, in our opinion, excessive because your overhead should not be costing more than the actual cost of service you are providing,” Bhateja said.
Cupertino and Saratoga are in similar contract renegotiation scenarios with the county as Los Altos Hills, and the three cities have formed a joint committee to negotiate with the county to bring a proposal back to the respective councils, while each city also considers other individual contract options.
Santa Clara County Executive James Williams said in an email that the county remained committed to working in good faith with the cities to find solutions that reflected the true cost of services while honoring the partnership built over the years.
“Negotiations between the cities and the county are ongoing,” Williams said. “Our goal is to reach a fair and sustainable agreement that ensures full cost recovery and reflects fiscal responsibility. The current contract was established more than a decade ago and no longer represents the true cost of providing these services today.”
Williams said that for many years, the county’s general fund has absorbed rising service costs, effectively subsidizing local policing for contracting cities, even though the county had no legal obligation to provide these services. He said it was neither appropriate nor fiscally responsible for the county to continue covering costs that are the cities’ responsibility.
Los Altos Hills has offered a counter proposal to the county, fully funding increases tied to deputies while rejecting the county’s overhead charges, which Los Altos Hills argues are undefined and include vague add-ons that lack sufficient detail for validation. Bhateja is hopeful that a response to the counterproposal will come this week. The alternative plan would also phase in cost changes over time rather than implementing them all at once, starting with a 12% increase in July and a three-year phased implementation of the remaining overhead and cost-allocation charges.
“The costs are just out of proportion to the service we are getting, and that’s the problem,” Bhateja said.
Williams said state law limits how the county can negotiate financial terms.
“State law mandates that the county fully recover costs associated with providing contracted services to cities, except for those costs that the county would necessarily incur in the absence of the contracts,” Williams said. “As such, state law does not permit the county to assume responsibility for the city’s own costs and limits flexibility in how we can negotiate financial terms.”
Los Altos Hills does not have its own law enforcement agency like Los Altos and Mountain View. It instead contracts with the county for services to avoid managing a standalone law enforcement agency, which is often a major expense for cities. Possible options if a new contract is not agreed upon include a short-term extension of the current contract, modified service levels at a lower cost or another arrangement with a law enforcement agency. The shrinking negotiating window is pushing up against Los Altos Hills’ May budget meetings, with Bhateja hopeful for a resolution in the next few weeks.
Brooks Jarosz, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office, said in an email that the department’s focus was on public safety and remained committed to providing consistent, professional law enforcement services to contracted communities.
“Our deputies know these neighborhoods well, and behind every deputy is a dedicated network of specialists, support staff and training resources that make effective policing possible. We value the strong relationships built over many years and remain proud to serve these communities every day,” Jarosz said.
