Hollister
– The City Council approved new measures last night to tackle
Hollister’s shortage of police officers.
Hollister – The City Council approved new measures last night to tackle Hollister’s shortage of police officers.
In order to improve its recruitment efforts, the police department will resume sending recruits to the academy, paying them a reduced salary and covering their tuition and fees. Police administrators will also try to hire cadets while they are attending academy; as an extra incentive, the department will offer to reimburse their academy fees.
According to Police Chief Jeff Miller, the department has four vacancies, with a fifth expected to open in coming months as another officer retires. Before the council meeting, Miller told the Free Lance that even without the vacancies, he’s been “grossly understaffed” since budget cuts in 2004. There are now 10 patrol officers on the payroll, with three of them on duty at any one time.
“When other chiefs hear about the conditions we’re working under, their jaws drop,” Miller said. “The officers here are working very hard and I’m proud of them.”
Miller also emphasized that officers recruited while they’re still enrolled in an academy will not be reimbursed until they’re sworn in to the Hollister Police Department.
“We can swear them in and give them their badge, ID and a check at the same time,” he said.
At last night’s meeting, Councilwoman Monica Johnson asked how the city can be sure that trainees won’t flunk out or leave for another department shortly after joining Hollister’s police department.
Miller said the goal of the department’s screening process is to ensure that only qualified applicants who are a good fit with Hollister’s department get recruited, but he acknowledged that there are no guarantees.
“We take that risk to get at the front end of that applicant pool,” Miller said.
The recruitment of police officers has become an intensely competitive process, Miller said.
“There are agencies within commuting distance that pay 50 percent more than we do,” he said. “We’re competing with those that pay more, yet our housing prices are catching up.”
Hollister resident Felix Solano said he’s worried that the local police department has just become a training ground for better-paying departments elsewhere.
“All over the state, go look up the fire department, look up the police department and ask, ‘Where were you trained?'” Solano said. “They’ll tell you, ‘Hollister!'”
Miller also noted sending a trainee to an academy is a serious time investment, since the combination of six months in the academy and 14 weeks in field training means it could be a year before trainees actually go on duty.
The council also decided to postpone a vote on increasing city garbage rates by 7.08 percent. The city’s 1987 contract with Waste Management – which owns service provider Hollister Disposal – allows the company to raise rates once per year based on a set formula to account for increased costs.
For residents with a 35-gallon container, the proposed increase would add up to a little more than $1 a month.
San Benito County’s Board of Supervisors approved a similar rate increase earlier this year.
Hollister resident Marty Richman complained that any deal that allows rates to increase every year is a “sucker contract.”
“That is no way to do business,” he said.
The councilmembers told City Manager Clint Quilter that they want to see more information about the contract and about Waste Management’s costs before making a decision.
“It’s just so we can have a real good understanding so we can make the right decision,” Mayor Brad Pike said.
The council’s decision to dramatically increase sewer rates drew sharp complaints from many Hollister residents last fall.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
