GREENFIELD - A new twist in Greenfield's political drama dividing the city and begging the question: Can't we all just get along??
With two new council members at the helm, some thought the first order of business would be to get rid of the police merger with Soledad.
But not so fast -- Now some people are saying all four cities in South Monterey County need to merge.
"That's worse," said Annie Moreno, Greenfield councilwoman. "That's worse than merging with two."
Greenfield city staff said it will run its own police department only if all other options fail.
"Each city could potentially save between a quarter million and a half a million dollars each on their police contracts, if we do it effectively," said Brent Slama, interim city manager for Greenfield.
But this time Slama isn't just talking about merging Greenfield and Soledad, but also adding Gonzales and King City to the mix.
Greenfield has a $40,000 budget shortfall this year, and he said it can't hold up the police department on its own.
"Is it doable for the city to continue spending two thirds, up to 70 percent of our general fund on police services without looking at other services to provide to our city? That's a question," he said.
Because every year, the police department costs Greenfield $2.6 million.
In June, two council members who supported the merger were kicked out of office.
"We need our own chief," Moreno said. "It's reasonable. It can be done."
But there's still no peace, because council members and city staff are still at odds, leaving the police chief for Greenfield and Soledad to wonder what's next.
"Having two cities shared is already doing some cost savings, but having four cities it even increases that cost saving," said Chief Eric Sills.
The four cities combined have a total population of about 60,000 people, whereas a city like Salinas has a population of 150,000 people with one chief.
On Tuesday night, the Greenfield City Council did vote to continue using Soledad's police chief for now.
Chief Sills has been the chief for both cities for the last four months.
Next Wednesday, the Soledad City Council will discuss whether it wants to be a part of merging all four cities.
