Committee backs RESET sobering center contract, requests clearer funding plan

The committee voted to forward to the full Board a contract to operate a new Rapid Enforcement Support Evaluation and Triage (RESET) Center intended as an alternative to jail or emergency room drop‑offs for people arrested for public intoxication or visible illicit drug use.

The Sheriff’s Office described a proposed two‑year, two‑month contract (with a one‑year option) with Connections CA LLC to operate the center at 4446 6th Street with a 25‑person capacity and 24/7 staffing. The contract value presented in committee totals approximately $14.5 million, of which roughly $1.4 million is tied to performance incentives for meeting objectives such as reduced officer booking times, clients remaining until sober, and post‑discharge connections to services.

Under‑Sheriff Catherine Johnson noted the center bridges a gap between quick arrests and short jail stays — populations that historically have limited connection to services because they are released within hours — and that RESET is designed to stabilize people, manage minor medical needs, and make discharge plans to treatment or social services.

Public comment included advocates questioning contractor selection and clinical staffing, and asking how clients with fentanyl dependence would be managed; advocates also requested that DPH be more directly engaged and that medical care/withdrawal management be clarified. Committee members sought quantification of potential savings (officer time, avoided jail and ER costs) and flagged that not all multi‑year costs are currently budgeted. Chair Chan and members requested the department return with specific funding plans for unfunded future years; committee members agreed to forward the contract while placing remaining years on reserve pending budget action.

Vice Chair Matt Dorsey and two colleagues voted to forward the contract with a positive recommendation; the Sheriff’s Office will return to the Board with a budget plan for remaining years.