TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Salvador Llamas, General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: 2026 Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Contract
ACTION ITEM
AGENDA PLANNING REQUEST: ☐
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider approving a three-year contract with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) to provide sworn law enforcement for the period of July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029, with two one-year extension options upon mutual agreement.
Staff Contact:
Salvador Llamas, General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Safe and Secure Operations
Initiative - Service Quality
Contracting with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office will allow the District to continue to support the District’s strategic goal of providing safe and secure operations to District employees, customers, and properties.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
The new ACSO agreement is based on a three (3) year base term (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2029) with two (2) additional one (1) year options (option year 1: July 1, 2029 to June 30, 2030, option year 2: July 1, 2030 to June 30, 2031).
The costs for the first contract year (FY26-27) are currently estimated at $10,830,006 (included in the FY26-27 budget) - an estimated 4.1% cost reduction in FY26-27 with current ACSO labor costs.
Noting that the new Alameda County union contract is not yet ratified, changes in costs will likely impact final costs for FY26-27 and the follow-on years. Staff expects the total contract costs, including all option years, not-to-exceed $59,500,000. For comparison, the current contract expenses are projected to total $47,325,774, which is 1,893,031 (4.4%) under the contracted not-to-exceed amount.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
The District currently contracts with Alameda County Sheriff’s Office for dedicated sworn law enforcement services for its employees, vehicles, customers, facilities and properties throughout Alameda County. The current contract (three years, plus two one-year options) expires on June 30, 2026. The new contract will continue services for a base period of three years, through June 30, 2029, plus two one-year options.
ACSO has provided high quality law enforcement services to the district and developed and maintained a collaborative working relationship with the District. ACSO services support the District with response and investigations to accidents, assaults, trespassing, property damage, suspicious activity, and facility and property crimes. ACSO also provides proactive services to include fare enforcement and education, bus boardings and ride-a-longs, and property patrols.
The District and ACSO continue to utilize, and have expanded, key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics agreed upon in 2021 (SR 21-146a) to measure performance and provide data to analyze trends and repurpose staff to align with District activity and threats. Over the last three years ACSO has responded to 443 assault calls, with 155 related to operator assaults. Conducted 48,075 boardings and 1,063 ride-a-longs for increased visual presence and operator and customer engagement, conducted 453 arrests, and responded to 26,366 calls for service.
ACSO has also supported the District with the implementation and expansion of HaydenAI at no additional cost. ACSO has realigned Sheriff Technician duties and utilizes lite-duty Alameda County deputies to approve over 129,000 of the 418,000 events generated by HaydenAI, and process 88,000 citations.
The new contract retains the essential terms of the current contract, with the exception of the following items:
• Personnel Cost decreased by 6.8%.
o 38.9% Workers’ Compensation reduction
o 5% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)
o 2027 includes an additional 27th payroll period
o Retirement Bond Payouts
• Services/Supplies cost increased by 22.6%.
o 10% Fuel Cost increases
o 25.2% Motor Vehicle Transportation
o 65.6% Risk management costs
o 15.3% Dispatch costs
o 2 new replacement vehicles in both FY26-27 and FY27-28
o New body worn cameras and tasers in FY26-27
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
Continuing the contract with ACSO for police services allows for the continuation of vital law enforcement services that are consistent and reliable with sworn officers designated specifically for District transit-related incidents and criminal deterrence.
If the contract is not renewed, the District will have to rely on phone calls to 911 when incidents occur. Given the size of our operating area, responses to local 911 law enforcement calls may be delayed, or no responses may be provided at all, due to other competing 911 calls in the service area.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
District staff have considered reducing the number of ACSO staff assigned to the contract; however, that would put Bus Operators, Transportation Supervisors, other employees performing work duties in the field, and the public at risk by not having adequate staffing for the service area. It would increase the response time to calls and limit law enforcement presence at layovers. Proactive community policing would be reduced, due to lower staff numbers and competing priorities for responding to calls to service.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
SR 21-146 - Three-year contract with two one-year options with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office for AC Transit sworn law enforcement services.
SR 21-146a - Development of new and additional Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for the Alameda and Contra-Costa County Sheriff’s contracts.
ATTACHMENTS:
None
Prepared by:
Ronald Erb, Manager of Public Safety & Security
In Collaboration with:
Cheryl Sudduth, Contract Service Manager
Diana Nguyen, Principle Financial Analyst
Scott Arjun, Senior Management Analyst
Approved/Reviewed by:
Chris Andrichak, Chief Financial Officer
Aimee L. Steele, General Counsel/Chief Legal Officer
Paul Kincaid, Assistant General Manager/Chief Executive Officer