The Buellton City Council opened the door this week to a massive change in local law enforcement, greenlighting new talks that could end decades of Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office patrols across the city of 5,100 residents.
The potential switch to the Lompoc Police Department—primarily to lower costs—comes three months after nearby Solvang formalized similar discussions with Lompoc leaders.
To give negotiations breathing room, the Buellton council on Monday also directed City Hall staff to extend the city’s current four-year contract with the Sheriff’s Office ending June 30 for an additional year into 2029.
Time will tell what might follow—and whether an additional policing agency in the mix might complicate the daily rigor of law enforcement across the Santa Ynez Valley. Sheriff’s deputies would continue to serve unincorporated neighborhoods.
“The Sheriff’s department has done a good job, but we do have a fiduciary responsibility,” Councilmember Carla Mead said. “It’s not just the final number. It’s about the value… What’s the biggest bang for our buck, essentially?”
Preliminary estimates show Buellton could receive roughly the same levels of service yet potentially save $1 million annually by switching to Lompoc, City Manager Scott Wolfe said.
“The city of Lompoc would require the participation of both the city of Buellton and the city of Solvang for this to work,” Wolfe said. “At least that’s been the discussion up until now. That may or may not be something we can work out.”
Sheriff’s lieutenant: ‘You are buying into the network’
It’s rare for two law enforcement agencies to openly compete for a municipal policing contract.
The Buellton partnership with the Sheriff’s Office dates back more than three decades to the city’s 1992 incorporation.
On Monday, top brass from the Sheriff’s Office and Lompoc Police separately made business cases to the council.
Sheriff’s Lt. Travis Henderson, who acts as chief for Buellton and Solvang, said he and his team serve Buellton proudly—and will continue to for the life of a contract he painted as providing unique value.
“The members of the Sheriff’s department have policed this community as members and citizens that live here,” he told the council. “It is the very definition of community-based policing.
“You get the entire package that comes with the Sheriff’s Office,” Henderson said. “You are buying into the network that is the Sheriff’s Office, whether it be our forensics unit, our SWAT team, our detective bureau, our crisis intervention team.”
Lompoc chief: ‘You have a decision to make’
Lompoc Police Chief Kevin Martin told the council his officers would benefit from six-month rotations into Buellton, where call volumes are lower.
“It’s healthier for them and healthier for their careers,” Martin said, adding recent efforts to modernize his department make expansion possible.
New technologies on hand, he said, include a cloud-based dispatch management system, a drone the department now flies to all high-priority 911 calls, and a digitally encrypted radio communications system expected to go live before year’s end.
“Lompoc is going through a tremendous number of technology upgrades,” Martin said. “The only way we could do what we’re talking about today is because of some of those technological changes.
“You have a decision to make,” he said. “We’re letting you as a council decide which direction you choose to go.”
The current Buellton contract
Law enforcement costs in Buellton rose from $2,727,368 in fiscal year 2023-24, the first year of the current contract, to $3,243,055 this fiscal year. This excludes the $255,400 annual cost of a motorcycle officer the city added to the contract midstream.
In total, the current $3,498,455 yearly cost of the contract constitutes more than 26% of the city’s current General Fund spending, according to a report by the city manager Wolfe.
Solvang leaders have pointed to a similar trend, describing a 10-year cost increase of 107%.
And while Buellton leaders have publicly expressed satisfaction with service levels, their counterparts in Solvang have shared concerns about inadequate traffic and code enforcement, limited accountability, inconsistent statistical reporting and unreliable event coverage.
Sheriff Brown in a May statement that his agency looked forward to maintaining a relationship with Solvang built on trust: “We remain committed to productive conversations that prioritize the needs of the community.”
Looking ahead: town hall meetings
Among other changes, a switch to Lompoc would require that Buellton and Solvang each have two officers on duty at all times instead of the one deputy currently provided, Wolfe said, noting this would help ensure officer safety.
Sheriff’s Lt. Henderson countered that notion, describing the idea Buellton pays for only one deputy as a false narrative.
“Whether it be from Lake Cachuma to Surf Beach to Los Alamos, there are sheriff’s deputies available 24 hours a day without fail to respond to the needs of the citizens of Buellton,” Henderson said. “The idea that you’re only paying for one deputy is a fallacy. When you need 20 deputies, you get 20.”
As Buellton and Solvang consider a switch, another less likely option is the creation of a joint police force shared by the two cities and the northern city of Guadalupe. Creating that would take several years, Wolfe said.
Buellton council members urged no final decision be made before the city holds one or more town hall meetings to gauge public sentiment.
“When there is consumer choice, the customer benefits,” Mayor David Silva said. “I don’t know the last time that the community was engaged with really establishing what value they want to see in their law enforcement.
“What is our community looking for?” Silva said. “If we were to continue with the Sheriff’s department, that’s good information… If we were to move forward with the Lompoc PD, that’s good information.”
