No ticketing for the past month as temporary officers finish
their stints
The search for someone to fill the part-time parking enforcement
position at the Hollister Police Department is still ongoing after
nearly a year of advertising the job, and there has been nobody
patrolling the past month after two temporary officers finished
their stints.
No ticketing for the past month as temporary officers finish their stints
The search for someone to fill the part-time parking enforcement position at the Hollister Police Department is still ongoing after nearly a year of advertising the job, and there has been nobody patrolling the past month after two temporary officers finished their stints.
Still, overall, the program has had success, according to recently released numbers. The agency had reported handing out about 100 tickets monthly and generating more than $30,000 in revenue.
For the last month, though, the department doesn’t have anyone enforcing the parking law because it is “in-between people,” Police spokesman Sgt. David Westrick said. The two temporary workers, retired policemen, ran out of allowable hours for the year.
Police hope the next parking enforcement officer will be a permanent one, Westrick said.
Despite using temporary workers to issue the enforcement, revenue from last year’s decision to reestablish two-hour parking continues to flow in. After spending more than $30,000 in the program’s first month, revenues from tickets have nearly paid off everything.
After three full quarters of implementing the two-hour parking throughout downtown, the city has received $32,452 from citations and has spent a total of $44,872.60, including a little more than $6,000 per quarter on employment.
By the end of the year, Police Chief Jeff Miller expects the program to pay for itself and he does not see any changes once a person is hired to fill the open position.
“We are not doing it for the revenue – we are doing it for compliance,” Miller said.
Meanwhile, the search for someone to fill the open position continues to take longer than expected but it should be filled soon, Miller said. The police department is still accepting applications and is issuing a series of written tests to applicants in the upcoming week.
“It’s been a little difficult but we are finally getting some applications,” he said.
Earlier in the summer, the city council voted to change the requirements for the position – before applicants needed to have a college education. The police have also offered the job to a few people who turned it down – one because he received more money in unemployment, Miller said.
“It’s not a full-time job and there are no benefits,” Miller said.
The job offers $15 per hour and a possible doorway to future endeavors in law enforcement.
“That’s why we wanted to offer it to a college student,” Miller said. “We wanted to do that to give people the opportunity.”
Miller added that the eventual person who takes over the job would be able to handle other police officer duties and find it easier to become a peace officer. The position will also allow police officers to handle more hazardous duties.
