Councilman irked by captain’s commute with police car

When Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller considered promoting Carlos Reynoso from sergeant to one of two captain positions in April 2009, he considered whether to continue a standard practice and allow the No. 2-ranked officer access to a department-issued squad car for his commute. Reynoso’s case is unlike most others because he lives outside the county about 45 miles from Hollister.
Miller decided the benefits of having Reynoso available 24/7 – and fully equipped to help coordinate responses – outweighed the cost.
That undetermined cost of allowing Reynoso a police vehicle to drive to and from work – about a 90-mile round trip, with the city picking up the tab for gas – has at least one Hollister councilman peeved during these immensely difficult budget times in which officials face multimillion-dollar deficits and continual cuts.
Councilman Robert Scattini said he approached City Manager Clint Quilter around two months ago questioning whether the captain had been commuting with a police car. Scattini wasn’t happy when Quilter initially reported back days later that Reynoso was, indeed, driving his department-issued vehicle to and from work on the city’s dime.
“I says, ‘What we should do then is charge him how many miles he puts on that car,'” Scattini recalled saying.
Scattini claimed he then asked Quilter a second time to address the problem, but that he had not heard back from the city manager as of this week. Quilter on Tuesday, however, said the city planned to disallow Reynoso from taking the car home, while the Free Lance is omitting where the captain resides upon request from the police department.
“I’m not sure if it stopped,” Quilter said. “If it hasn’t, it’s going to given the budget times.”
The police chief, though, defended the still-existent policy and noted that he expects the two captains, who do not receive overtime pay, to be on call and ready to “respond appropriately.”
“That means having their cars available,” Miller said.
Miller addressed the potential use of cell phones in such situations and pointed out that officers are exempt under the law barring their use on the road, but only if motorists are driving emergency vehicles and communicating for work purposes. He said he decided against requiring blue-tooth devices and mentioned that officers often wear ear phones for radio communication and have both ears covered, which could cause a problem when trying to talk on a cell phone.
Miller said that when Reynoso had been a sergeant, the police department did not give him access to a vehicle for his commute. Other officers who live out of town below the captain rank do not have access to cars for commuting, he said, while those who live locally can drive to and from work with their police-issued vehicles.
Miller has said letting officers commute the short distance locally has its benefits as well, such as spurring better upkeep and adding a security element with those squad cars present in residential neighborhoods during off hours.
As for other Hollister employees using city-issued vehicles, the number has dwindled in recent years. Quilter said some on-call employees have them, such as supervisors at the city yard who “have to respond directly to stuff.” The only department head with such full access to a city-issued vehicle is Airport Manager Mike Chambless, said Quilter, who three years ago stopped accepting a car allowance afforded in his own contract.
Scattini himself recognized the need for some employees to have wider access to vehicles. As marshal for 22 years before the county eliminated the elected office last year, Scattini was issued a marked police car that he used primarily to serve court orders. He also drove to and from his Hollister home in that car. 
He said he has no problem with officers driving police cars to their local homes. Scattini talked about his post as marshal and said if he ever left the Hollister area for personal reasons during that time, he drove a personal car.
“Why should the taxpayers pay his transportation all the way to (that city)?” Scattini said. “Why should we the taxpayers pay for that?”