RANCHO MIRAGE, CA — The Board of Supervisors Tuesday ratified a five-year law enforcement services agreement, valued at $86 million, between the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and the city of Rancho Mirage.
The board voted 5-0, without comment, in favor of the agreement, which tasks sheriff's personnel with handling all municipal police functions from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2031.
The Rancho Mirage City Council approved the agreement in June. The sheriff's department has been sole provider of law enforcement services in the municipality for decades.
"The agreement ensures that service will continue uninterrupted," according to a report posted to the board's agenda.
Under the contract, sheriff's service rate adjustments will be allowed no more than once each fiscal year to reflect changes in the county's cost of providing law enforcement protection. The compact further specifies that all expenses incurred by sheriff's personnel to provide services will be covered by the city, with no General Fund or other obligations by the county.
Services will include application of all state, county and municipal laws, including providing traffic enforcement and managing criminal investigations.
To meet staffing needs in the city, the equivalent of 16 deputies will be on the job at all times.
Personnel deployments will include a sheriff's lieutenant, sheriff's watch sergeant, a motor sergeant, three deputies on motorcycle detail, two deputies assigned to "problem-oriented policing" and five community service officers.
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