San Carlos PD May Disband
The chief of police in San Carlos is now weighing in on steps being taken to disband the department because of a severe budget shortage, but Chief Greg Rothaus says it's a win-win for nearly everybody involved.
Plans to do-away with the department in order to save money have been discussed for months, now the city council will vote on the idea at a specially-called meeting Thursday night. Chief Rothaus says that if approved, the average citizen will hardly notice a difference.
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"The sheriff's office still intends to staff our streets and meet, or exceed the minimum staffing levels that we have had in place here for years," said Rothaus.
Most of the sworn officers will trade in their police uniforms for sheriff's garb, and many will see a bump in pay. It's behind the scenes where most of the changes will be felt.
"We will be using their staff for a lot of the administrative functions," said Rothaus.
This means that some existing police staff will be out of a job. Rothaus says it wasn't an easy decision, but it is one that will save the City of San Carlos about $2 million each year, which would be helpful to a city trying to close a $3.5 million budget gap.
