It’s the type of news that provides a particular elbow to the gut type of feeling: A city is broke and, to rectify the issue, local officials are shutting down the police force.

It’s certainly won’t provide much peace of mind for residents.



The city of San Carlos in the Silicon Valley recently made a move (4-1 by the Council) to contract out its police force. The move will eliminate the jobs of 32 officers and save the city $2.5 million a year, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

Instead, the city will pay the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department to do the job.

The Bloomberg article quoted former Palo Alto City Manager Frank Benest, now a local government consultant, who says the issue is a “growing trend.”

“Cities and counties are looking for ways of delivering services at a lower cost,” Benest said. “A lot of the easy cuts have already been made.”

Last week, PublicCEO reported on the city of Maywood, which opted to eliminate all city employee positions to contract with its county services.