YORBA LINDA (CBSLA.com) — After over four decades, police in Brea will hand over patrol duties for the city of Yorba Linda to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

KNX 1070′s Ron Kilgore reports the agreement is expected to save as much as $ 3 million a year for Yorba Linda.

Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Bob Wren, the acting police chief for Yorba Linda, said the new agency has faced some challenges after the transition was moved up from May 2013 to 12:01 a.m. on Saturday morning.

“I had to create a police force from scratch, so I had to go out and get patrol cars and radios and equipment and the technology that’s needed for a modern police force,” Wren said. “That’s been the biggest challenge.”

19 out of the 26 deputies that comprise the new department will come from the Brea Police Department after the Sheriff’s Department outbid the city of Brea to provide law enforcement services.

Wren said the actual cost to patrol Yorba Linda would be $8.6 million a year, far below the $10.3 million bid submitted by the city of Brea.

Wren – who is a Yorba Linda resident – said the Sheriff’s Department will be a tremendous resource in ensuring the safety of his neighbors.

“Any help that I need is there, just a phone call away,” he said.