POL POSITION:Newport isn’t planning to take over Harbor Patrol

Recently, there has been a lot of talk around town about whether the City of Newport Beach is planning on taking over the Harbor Patrol from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. In case you don’t make it to the end of this column, let me say up front: there are no plans for the City of Newport Beach Police Department, Fire Department, or the Lifeguards to take over the Harbor Patrol.

So you may ask yourself, “If the city isn’t planning on taking over the Harbor Patrol, why am I seeing full-page advertisements in the Daily Pilot and receiving scary brochures in the mail, both paid for by the Deputy Sheriffs’ Union.” The answer is one word: jobs.

Like any labor union, the Deputy Sheriffs Association is an advocate for its members. Fearing the loss of jobs, and plum jobs at that, the union has embarked on a self-described “education mission.” Others, including myself, would term it an attempt to spread fear in our community through the use of deceptive and unsubstantiated statements and assumptions.

So you may now ask yourself, “What is the real story?” A number of months ago, some members of the County Board of Supervisors began talking about transferring Harbor Patrol duties to Newport Beach and Huntington Beach. Why would they want to do this? The reason is money and how it is spent. Although the Harbor Patrol is staffed and run by the Sheriffs Department, the money to pay for it comes out of the County Parks Department budget. If the county can rid itself of the Harbor Patrol, park funds would then be freed up to use in other areas of the county.

Basically, what we have here is a disagreement between the Board of Supervisors on one side and the Sheriff and the Deputy Sheriffs’ Union on the other. In order to bolster their position, the Deputy’s Union has resorted to their so-called “education” initiative. They have also made thinly veiled threats to get involved in our elections next year in an attempt to intimidate me and my fellow Newport Beach City Council Members into supporting their side in this dispute with the Board.

As I told Wayne Quit, the President of the union, and Thomas Dominguez, Chairman of their Political Action Committee, when they came to see me, my fellow council members and I are committed to providing the best services we can to the residents of Newport Beach. If the County Board of Supervisors wants to discuss these services, including the Harbor Patrol, and explore how we can do that without sacrificing safety and performance, then we will be more than happy to accommodate them. Nevertheless, we are not negotiating to take over the Harbor Patrol duties and we are far off from doing so. However, if that day ever comes, I am confident that our police, fire and lifeguard departments will do so in a manner equal to or better than currently provided by the sheriffs.