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Guadalupe officials weigh higher cost for Santa Maria dispatch services as contract is drafted
Summary
City staff reported a tentative agreement with Santa Maria for dispatch services that could rise from about $70,000 to roughly $200,000 in the first year; staff said a written contract and city attorney review are pending and the council will see a staff report before final action.
The Guadalupe City Council heard a staff update June 24 on a proposed contract to move the city’s emergency dispatch services to Santa Maria, a change staff said could raise the city’s annual cost from about $70,000 to about $200,000 in the first year.
Chief Cash, director of public safety, told the council that Santa Maria’s negotiators initially sought roughly $354,000 but indicated they would accept about $200,000 for the first year as the two parties finish paperwork. “They said they’ll go all the way down to 200,000,” Cash said during the meeting. Cash said Santa Maria asked whether Guadalupe’s city attorney would participate in finalizing terms and that the next step is for Santa Maria to prepare a written contract for the city attorney to review.
The change carries an immediate budget implication: staff said the city currently has about $70,000 budgeted for dispatch and would need roughly $100,000 more in year one if the $200,000 figure holds. City staff told council members there is not enough in the current budget and that staff would bring options — including midyear budget adjustments — once the contract language is ready.
City staff said in the meeting that bringing dispatch services back in-house is not feasible in the near term because the city lacks the necessary infrastructure and personnel. Cash described the prior contract as having been subsidized when the program was getting started and said Santa Maria’s new administration now seeks full cost recovery.
Cash said Guadalupe has already been using Santa Maria’s services under existing arrangements and that the proposed agreement would formalize and expand that relationship. He said staff would return with a formal staff report and a contract for council review after the city attorney examines the draft from Santa Maria.
Council members pressed for timing and budget details during the discussion; staff said they expected Santa Maria to prepare the written contract soon, after which the city attorney would review and staff would bring a report to council. No formal action was taken at the June 24 meeting.
Clarifying details discussed at the meeting included that the initial Santa Maria offer was described as $354,000 then negotiated to an approximate $200,000 first-year figure and that the city currently budgets roughly $70,000 for dispatch services.
