A four-month hiring process that had become increasingly
complicated
– and was close to starting again – ended on Friday when the
Hollister City Council confirmed Jeff Miller as the city’s police
chief.
Miller, 45, will take over for Interim Chief Larry Todd and
succeed former Chief Bill Pierpoint, who announced his retirement
more than four months ago. Miller is scheduled to start sometime in
September.
A four-month hiring process that had become increasingly complicated – and was close to starting again – ended on Friday when the Hollister City Council confirmed Jeff Miller as the city’s police chief.
Miller, 45, will take over for Interim Chief Larry Todd and succeed former Chief Bill Pierpoint, who announced his retirement more than four months ago. Miller is scheduled to start sometime in September.
The Council voted 4-1 in favor of Miller’s approval during a closed-session meeting Friday night. Councilman Robert Scattini’s was the dissenting vote. Council members Tony Bruscia, Tony LoBue, Pauline Valdivia and Mayor Brian Conroy were in favor of the selection.
“I’ve barely met him, but I think we need to give him the opportunity,” Valdivia said. “We also need to give the city manager (Dale Shaddox) the opportunity to give him direction for where he wants the department to go.”
Shaddox selected Miller in early July from a pool of three finalists, which had been selected from eight candidates.
Miller’s only previous police chief experience in Rohnert Park – and his relationship with the local police union in the Sonoma County city – nearly cost him the opportunity to lead the Hollister Police Department. Miller resigned in October 2001 after 18 months in Rohnert Park because its union criticized his leadership.
Miller said the negative attention could have adversely affected both the city and his family, so he initially withdrew his candidacy for the position on July 21. Shaddox’s No. 2 finalist accepted another offer for a duel role of police chief and administrator. So, Hollister had been on the verge of potentially restarting the entire process, according to several officials.
That’s when the Hollister Police Officers Association stepped in and conducted an independent investigation of Miller’s past. Its findings, which were partially based on conversations with officials in Rohnert Park, resulted in unanimous support for Miller from the POA.
The show of support convinced Shaddox to re-offer the position to Miller, who accepted on Wednesday.
“I think it’s a really positive thing if the Police Officers Association has endorsed him,” Bruscia said.
Scattini said he voted against the hiring because he “wasn’t completely confident in the process of selection.”
“Beyond that, I can’t comment,” he said.
The most pressing issues facing police leadership, according to Council members, include the continuance of programs to prevent gang activity, recruitment for vacant officer positions and improvement of departmentwide morale.
“This department’s been upside down,” Scattini said, “and it has been for a long time.”
