Just hours after a judge refused to place an injunction on a City Council vote to outsource its jails, Costa Mesa did just that. The vote came late on Tuesday and was designed to shift responsibility for operating the jail to a private company, G4S Security Solutions. According to the City, outsourcing the jail will save the City $3 million over the next five years.
The City’s jail was the original target of the broad outsourcing plan that made national news two years ago. As a first step, the City issued pink slips to nearly 200 employees in a variety of City departments. Those pink slips were ultimately rescinded after a lengthy legal battle.
Outsourcing jail services will allow the City to end costly benefits programs for many of its employees, while protecting their jobs. As part of the agreement reached with G4S, the company will offer comparable positions to the City’s full- and part-time custody officers, overseer sergeant, and court liaison officer.
Read the full article at the Los Angeles Times.