Sheriff’s Deputies will be released from their jobs and Pitchess Detention Center will be run by a private corporation under a bold new City of Santa Clarita public-private partnership plan announced today, just days after the City wrested control of libraries from the County.
Under the plan, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will be released from its contract starting June 1, 2011, and Blackwater Security, a Virginia-based private security company, will patrol Santa Clarita’s streets and run its jails with the full force and authority of the law.
What’s more, the City says, the move will save Santa Clarita money.
“In our continuing effort to find performance improvements in this difficult time, we identified $450,000 the LASD was receiving but not investing back in the SCV. So we looked at alternatives that would save us money but also increase public safety” said City Manager Ken Pulskamp at a press conference with four Councilmembers.
Pulskamp cited an obscure state law that allows municipalities to fire sworn peace officers and hire private for-profit corporate security personnel instead.
Once the plan is implemented, Santa Claritans can expect to see results right away, City officials said.
“We looked at the juvenile arrest rate of the LASD and found it to be shockingly low. We are not getting bang for our buck people,” an excited Councilwoman Laurie Ender said. “Blackwater promises they can increase the performance of the Pitchess juvenile detention unit by a staggering 137% and their specialized ‘broom vehicles’ will sweep the homeless away much more efficiently than LASD,” she remarked.
Blackwater officials also attended the press conference and showed a video of their enhanced law enforcement vehicles, which will start patrolling SCV streets next summer. The massive SUVs -modified military HUMVEES- feature roof-mounted machine gun turrets, electrified armor, and spikey wheels that can puncture the tires of suspects fleeing black-clad security personnel. A front bumper-mounted razor-sharp plow, capable of pushing through and clearing crowds of protesters and other undesirables, is included at no additional charge.
“When we do things in Santa Clarita, it’s at the ‘Gold Standard’ level”, remarked Mayor Weste as she pointed to a sample vehicle’s gold trim package.
She added: “We all love and support our Deputies. No one is attacking them. We know they put their lives on the line for us everyday. But they’re just too expensive.”
As part of the deal, Blackwater will deploy armed Predator drone aircraft in the skies over the SCV, providing a 24/7 security blanket for Santa Claritans, offering enhanced service that the LASD couldn’t possibly match according to City officials.
The City's new Predator Drone, nicknamed "Two Gun Bill," will expand the number of hours SCVers are monitored from above by 200% officials said
“These land and air-based high performance assets coupled with our lethal security personnel who are ex-Military will deter and prevent crime substantially in Santa Clarita’s toughest, most gang-infested neighborhoods. Mark my words. The good people of Santa Clarita will be safe under our 24/7/365 crime protection performance guarantee, or else” said Erik Prince, Blackwater’s CEO.
Echoing her comments on the recent hostile takeover of the County-run library system, Councilwoman Marsha McLean said that while LASD Deputies were brave and honest law enforcement personnel, cracks were beginning to form. “Maybe you don’t see them now, but you will. Big cracks. Ziggy-zaggy cracks. Cracks that might break your mother’s back. Cracks so mighty they crack at the very foundation of Lady Justice!” she said.
Under the plan, the City of Santa Clarita will be entitled to various law enforcement revenues approved by the voters in the last several decades. The City said it hopes to buy out the current Sheriff’s Station on Magic Mountain Boulevard and convert it into a high-security, high-performing Santa Clarita Justice Fortress.
City critics immediately pounced on word of the announcement. ”What about unincorporated County residents? Who do they call in case of an emergency? What about service costs for regular citizens?” asked a concerned county resident.
Councilman Frank Ferry, a noted critic of unincorporated residents, told reporters that County residents should have thought about city boundaries and the LASD’s declining budget before they bought their home.
“Yeah, I don’t care if some County malcontent has a problem with Blackwater. We’re providing a warm security blanket for our residents, our City residents. Okay?” he said.
The City’s move to take over law enforcement was its most bold yet, but City officials said if successful, they would apply the same performance improvement model to electrical power, water, schools, sewers, trash, AYSO, the YMCA, the Red Cross, cable TV, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Hulu, YouTube, The Signal, KHTS, and the Internet.
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@Jeff while your commentary was sarcasm and not meant to be flattering, I like the idea of a City of Santa Clarita PD. The two gun Bill reference on the drone was hilarious, but the humvee is a bit over the top, the only thing missing was a slam to auto row. Besides, a humvee is too expensive to operate and maintain Ken P and Darren H would not approve such largesse.
If we had a local PD, we could actually demand ALL of OUR laws are enforced and not worry about Baca’s “policies”. Sounds better and better, hum…
That’s exactly the point, though! A city-operated municipal police force might be a good thing – but outsourcing a civic activity to a for-profit company with no local ties or interests is bound to go wrong in the long run. A for-profit company more interested in the appearance of doing the job rather than the actual performance of the job, such as Blackwater, actually might use an H2 rather than a less-costly but less impressive vehicle. By extension, a for-profit library company more concerned with stats like the number of books checked out at once might pack the entire front half of the library with copies of Twilight and not bother with the Bhagavad Gita, the Handmaid’s Tale, Huckleberry Finn or Of Mice And Men.
The article is certainly couched as humor, and goes far further than any real scenario would, but the points are valid…
@Mike M, I am pretty sure local folks will have input on books and materials purchased via a library commission or other advisory body, local librarians, patrons, etc will also weigh in. How much input did we have on what COLA library purchased?
Too much Orwellian conspiracy stuff for me guys.
Besides aren’t you the ones that ask for “more government” intervention via health care, bailouts, etc?
Local folks get input?
@mike, I have not noticed Council or Staff locking the doors from the inside before Cam, Carol, Lynne, Val, Al, Allan Cameron, David, TimBen, all the Bonelli, Calgrove, Canvas/Linda Vista, Old Towne Newhall, Summit, and many others including me enter chambers to address them. Email, telephones, The Signal, and this blog seem to work pretty well too.
Surely you know as well as anyone here that the real decision-making happens behind those doors, closed tightly, long before the public hearings are held.
The public meetings are the sugar on top of an already baked pie. Cow pie, that is.
Oh you’re right Berta, if I walk into a council meeting and say I’d like to see more variety of classical literature in our libraries I am betting the council will jump right on it! *rolls eyes*
Let’s please stick to the topic at hand – if you’d like to discuss health care reform, which I was for before it was gutted, or bailouts which were started by conservatives, let’s do that in a thread that those are relative to. Nothing like a good red herring to distract from the issue at hand…
First – if input from residents was taken seriously at all, there would have been no vote on the library takeover Tuesday night. You can’t seriously expect me to feel better about “our input” after that fiasco.
Second – in the immortal words of Robert Heinlein (far from a leftist philosopher if you know him) “when the
plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit…” or if the residents truly get input on what gets stocked, we will wind up with a library full of Twilight and completely lacking anything with depth, dimension, or controversy.
Third – I prefer my essential civic services to be run by professionals who are not motivated by profit, such as the police, firefighters, mail service, educators and libraries. You may feel differently, and that is your right of course, but I have a serious problem with the quality of any of those services being second to the profits reaped by the providers.
@MikeM, hey you are the one who asked about resident input. You can disagree all you like and you can prefer whatever you like. It is obviously not what I prefer.
I prefer to have more local control, libraries stocked with classics as well as popular contemporary materials, where the residents have a choice what programs, etc their libraries offer. I also prefer staff that we are not forced to keep until hell freezes over because of the union if they are not doing their jobs. I guess we will have to wait and see which one of us got it right.
Berta, can I be you for Halloween?
@GangFang I’m afraid not. Unlike you, I am an original, all rights reserved.
GF – That would just be too scary. Please think of the kids.
This is funny stuff, you guys. I should visit here more often.
But you ignore his primary and valid question… You claim the residents will have input on the services and books available in our libraries, and yet when the citizens overwhelmingly opposed the library takeover in the first place it was blatantly ignored. What in the world makes you think that the citizen’s input on what happens in those libraries will carry any weight whatsoever? There is NO evidence that the city is listening.
@Jeff but not the one…, I disagree. There is evidence that the Council is listening, simply not to YOU and those OPPOSED to the City using our tax money to benefit us in Santa Clarita.
The evidence I have that the Council will stock the libraries with a wide variety of books which citizens’ request is, to do otherwise makes the libraries less desirable to the residents. The purpose of local control is to have the ability to expand days and hours of operation, institute programs residents want to avail themselves of, stock branches with materials residents want to borrow, have more computers available, and have residents USE the facilities even more.
Regardless of what all of you conspiracy theorists believe, the facts indicate that in all areas of municipal government the City has been very responsive to the residents. When we became a City, residents wanted more and better parks we got them. Residents wanted less graffiti; the City pays for constant graffiti removal. We wanted better sheriff service within City limits we get it. We wanted more public trails and we got them. We wanted a newer Newhall Community Center we got it. We wanted a new and bigger library in Canyon Country we got it. Newhall wanted a revitalization of old towne, the City is spending millions on streetscape, refurbishing buildings, and a brand new bigger library that the County had NO intention of building to anchor the downtown area among other things. We did not want CEMEX in our backyard, the City spent millions and years fighting for and with US. We did not want a dump in Elsmere Canyon, the City and its residents stopped it. We want the Whittaker-Bermite property cleaned up, the City and its residents are seeing to it that it is cleaned up. We wanted better refuse, transit, and street cleaning service; the City got it for us. I could go on and give you many more examples but the bottom line is:
The City has a nearly 23 year HISTORY of balanced budgets and involving the residents and doing whatever needs to be done to ensure the highest quality of life for ALL residents, not just those who complain the loudest. The libraries will be no different. I personally have been involved in many task forces, ad hoc committees, etc which the City creates to receive resident input. Instead of looking for evil deeds against you, let the Council and Staff know you would like to be considered for any library oriented advisory or other committee.
So the fact that the VAST, VAST majority of those who bothered to come speak out against this move were ignored, along with the VAST, VAST majority of those who bothered to come speak against the increase in election contributions etc, etc, etc, is not evidence to say that the City council is not really listening? Who exactly are they listening to?
You have zero evidence that they are listening, what you have are anecdotal examples of things that have happened that don’t contain any info about the city government listening to its constituency. When a city council so blatantly ignores the obvious concerns of so many, as it did on these 2 issues, be concerned. And by ignored I am saying that they should have taken Mr. Kellar’s lead on this one and said “Hold on, with this many opposed to this issue let’s AT LEAST take the time to discuss and research it further.” Bravo Mr. Kellar, you are listening, others were not.
With all that this council has done for you Berta I am surprised you had enough discontent to back and work for Mr. Gauny. Your previous post reads like a campaign advertisement for incumbency.
Brilliant! I can’t wait to see roided-out mercenaries patrolling the streets. Point of correction, though: Blackwater changed its name in Feb. 2009 to Xe Services. Different name, same dubious cash cow…
And of course Carl Newton’s law firm will make a bundle of money defending Federal civil rights lawsuits filed against the City’s private security force, just like they will make beaucoup fees on all of the legal work necessary to protect Santa Clarita’s library assets from LSSI’s creditors.
Of course mathematical geniuses Hernandez and Pulskamp didn’t budget for those costs in their calculations.
“We looked at the juvenile arrest rate of the LASD and found it to be shockingly low. We are not getting bang for our buck people,” an excited Councilwoman Laurie Ender said.
aha…aha…ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
You had me all the way to the description of the modified Humvee….everyone knows that picture is a Hummer…right? Silly Jeff…
I took it seriously til the Humvee part too. I was like, WTF? this has to be a joke…
Alright, this has to be a joke.
Blackwater hasn’t been Blackwater since Febuary of ’09 and currently operates under the name Xe Services and I have a VERY hard time believing a paramilitary mercenary group is cheaper than LAPD.
If the city wants to save money on law enforcement they can cancel their contracts with Copper Eagle.
ROFLMAO
ROFL–but wait–it COULD work, because the cracks are forming, the cracks are forming!
I feel safer already!! I can’t wait till the Xe guys go after the book thieves that are overdue by a day or more!
HAHA
Maybe instead of safety checkpoints to check for DUI’s, they can check to make sure youse a real AMERICAN or not! hahahahahaha Nice tactical rims on the hummer btw
Jeff, you’re serious competition for John Boston in the humor department. Truly funny.
We could have checkpoints for all those overdue library books. It’s for sure LSSI won’t be taking off any more fines.
Hey, Jeff – Meredith told me the night of the meeting that you left our old employer and so did your co-worker. After reading this I definitely think you should seriously think about a writing career. This is great stuff – I’m ready for Chapter 2!
@Jeff (but not …), I don’t consider 30 something people many of whom were County/union employees as a VAST, VAST, majority especially considering the population of both the City of Santa Clarita and unincorporated areas which use the libraries. However, even if I agreed that was a vast vast majority, I would still support local control of local dollars. I believe a majority, particularly when misinformed or led, can make big mistakes, witness multiple wars, ideologies like communism, and our current economic and political climate. I have said and will reiterate more time would have changed nothing. Same people would show up to support COLA; same people would show up to support City. Decision still rests with those elected to represent all residents, present and not, they made it.
I am very consistent. When I believe a proposal, regardless of whom or what is presenting it will benefit local residents, I am in support. When I believe a proposal, regardless of who or what is presenting it, will be detrimental to local residents,
such as the campaign contribution limit increase, I will oppose it. Seems pretty simple to me.
I do not see demons or angels everywhere. I see human beings, doing what they believe is best with varying degrees of success or failure in my estimation. Each topic, candidacy, etc is evaluated on its individual merits or lack of same. I do not prejudice an idea because I do or do not like the agency/person/political party/ religion, etc putting it forward. It is called being fair, you should try it some time.
No one who has ever taken the time to know me at all or what I stand for is surprised by what I do or say. If you are friend, you call it being independent, honest, and standing up for my convictions. If you are foe, well you know what you call me. I do not have to agree with you.
David Gauny knows where I stand on most issues and also knows I have no problem disagreeing with him either. Fortunately, one of the things I admire about David is that we can disagree civilly and still remain friends.
The decision regarding the libraries has been made Jeff (but not…). Move on.
I said it was the vast majority of those who bothered to show up didn’t I? Also I too judge every issue based on its merits and not on who presents it, regardless of political affiliation. Regardless of whether the decision would have changed the correct thing to do is what Mr. Kellar did (Someone I don’t agree with everything on particularly his stand on immigration, but again he was right on this issue IMO) which was to say, look, there appears to be an awful lot of concern about this issue, it warrants further discussion and hearing from more people, let’s do that. Even if the decision stays the same you have allowed both sides to speak their piece on a volatile issue. Instead they just ignored everyone who took the time out of their lives to show up and raise concerns. It doesn’t mean they always have to decide in favor of the vocal majority, built it would be wise to consider their appeal. Please spare me your nonsensical segue into wars and communism, that is an absurd leap and has nothing to do with this discussion whatsoever.
As far as “the decision being made, move on…” no thanks, if I believe in something I will continue to look for ways try to achieve it. I think a for profit company for libraries could have disastrous consequences, not to mention what I believe will ultimately be lack of access to unincorporated parts of our valley (The “answers” to this concern have been dodges at best.) Under your philosophy of the decision being made move on many important changes throughout time would not have occurred. No decision is ever set in stone, I am grateful that those who favor equal rights in marriage did not just “move on.” They saw an injustice in that decision and continued to fight. “Moving on” is apathy.
This is not me railing against the City Council just because I don’t like them either, I wasn’t in favor of either one of the 2 main challengers in the past election. I don’t automatically think that everything the city does is wrong, but I do see the beginning of a disturbing trend with this city council to completely ignore those who show up to city council meetings and speak. I see a trend of them not listening to concerns of their constituents. I see ego and power trips. I think that Mr. Ferry in particular has become so full of himself that he doesn’t really care what anyone else thinks… those are concerning traits from our leadership.