BIGGS, CA (MPG) - After 19 years of contracting with the Gridley Police Department, Biggs City Council voted unanimously to cut ties with Gridley and go its own way.

Biggs City Council has held two special meetings, including a presentation of the Butte County Sheriff’s Office proposal by Sheriff Cory Honea, before reconvening last Tuesday evening to make their final decision.

The biggest concern of Biggs residents has been response times and accessibility to services if the city decided to go with BCSO.

While being mindful of residents’ wishes, the biggest concern of Biggs City councilmembers, other than safety, seemed to be the financial impacts of the contracts and politics. Over a projected 3-year period, the BCSO proposal was less expensive than the Gridley bid. Council also made it pretty clear that disagreements with Gridley’s city administration and what Biggs perceived to be mismanagement of the contract proposal: lack of willingness to negotiate; a "take it or leave it" attitude from Gridley; and an overall feeling of disrespect from the City of Gridley made the decision even easier. At one point the council alleged that Gridley was trying to balance its budget on the back of Biggs, referencing the increased contract rates. 

These sentiments permeated the Council’s final discussion of the matter. Council member Brian Bassett brought up the point that although Biggs was part of Gridley-Biggs PD, Biggs felt they had no say in operations. Another council member, John Busch, wished that Gridley had a "desire to serve, rather than control." Council openly shared their disappointment and strong feelings of being mistreated by sister city, Gridley. 

After the vote, council member Roger Frith thanked the GBPD officers in attendance saying, we "want to apologize for the fact you got caught in the crossfire of politics that is beyond your control. And it’s unfortunate that this happens, has happened, because it is not a reflection on any of you individually or the department."

The current law enforcement service contract with Gridley comes to an end effective July 1st. At the February 26th meeting, Sheriff Honea stated he would need 6 months to organize and prepare before being able to fulfill what will be a five year contract with BCSO and the City of Biggs. Gridley Police Chief Al Byers said that he believed that Gridley would continue to provide support on a month-to-month basis until the BCSO took over.

The BCSO has requested an office at City Hall and necessary equipment/tech installations in order to maintain communication with headquarters. A designated area deputy (DAD) will be on patrol for 40 hrs. a week with rotating hours, a full-time, unarmed Community Service Officer and a School Resource Officer will also be staffed, augmented by other BCSO units when necessary. Biggs will be privy to additional BCSO resources, such as bomb squad, SWAT and investigation services, but will not have standard animal control services, per Sheriff Honeas’ presentation on Feb 26th. For more details on the contract, visit the City of Biggs website.