Content area
Full Text
Two Orange County cities are balking at the prospect of paying for sheriff's patrols of their harbors, a service the county has provided for decades.
The result is that Newport Beach may decide its own Police Department should staff the patrol boats there.
The county spends $10 million a year for the Sheriff's Department to patrol the county's 42 miles of coastline, as well as the county harbor in Dana Point and city harbors in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach.
The issue of who pays for harbor law enforcement has cropped up in recent years as county Supervisors Chris Norby and Lou Correa have questioned why the Harbors, Beaches & Parks division was contributing $3.8 million annually toward the cost, funds that could otherwise go toward recreational facilities along the coast.
A grand jury report last year asked the same question.
Although the Board of Supervisors continued the current arrangement, most supervisors suggested during budget hearings this month that funds for the Harbor Patrol should come from other county accounts or that the Sheriff's Department should cover all of its expenses.
The latter idea didn't sit well with Sheriff Michael S. Carona, who also opposed turning over those duties to cities.
"This is a regional recreational facility, and it's used by people from all over the county," said Capt. Deana Bergquist, who heads the Sheriff's Department's harbor division.
Still, some city officials said that if they were going to get a bill for the Harbor Patrol, they might as well have their...