You Tell Us: Should Rohnert Park Contract Out Law Enforcement to the Sheriff's Department?

A preliminary study released Tuesday examining what it would cost Rohnert Park to contract out law enforcement to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office —  for $9,500 — detailed cost savings that mostly resulted from staffing levels. 

The report, conducted by the Palo Alto-based firm Matrix Consulting Group, compared current public safety costs, estimated for 2011-2012 to be $11.2 million, to three proposals from the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department. 

One option would staff 44.75 police officers in Rohnert Park for $9.3 million annually; a second would staff 49.5 officers here for $10.3 million and the last would put 54.25 officers here for $11.3 million. Currently the department has 61.75 officers.

In a formal reaction after the presentation of the report, Police Chief Brian Masterson riveted a packed City Hall audience of between 50 and 80 people, when he poked holes in the study — pointing out above all that Rohnert Park gets police, fire, animal control and emergency response services for the price of one. 

Masterson stressed that there were significant discrepancies the report — and in the end, the City Council conceded that it left more questions than answers.

Rohnert Park Patch is crunching numbers and working on an in-depth analysis of Tuesday's report. Stay tuned here for a follow-up Wednesday. In the interim, check out what the Press Democrat had to say about the issue, and post your comments below to let us know what you think. 

Here, we value public opinion and believe news should be a conversation that is ongoing. So, what do you have to say?