Changes on the Way at Novato Police

With the economy in flux, the is experiencing ups and downs just like any other government program. The stark reality is that the force will be down to 55 sworn officers by the end of June, bringing the force to its lowest level of “feet on the street” personnel since the early 1990s.

Budget cuts made by the Novato City Council in 2009 resulted in several scheduled layoffs within the police ranks by June 30 of this year. There was one each at the lieutenant level, sergeant level and officer level plus a few others. The reductions were forced by the city’s ongoing budget deficit sparked by lower property tax and sales tax revenues resulting from the national recession.

Captain Jennifer Tejada, who handled administrative services under Chief Joseph Kreins, was thought of highly enough to be hired in early February as chief of the Sausalito Police Department, and her first day on the job will be Feb. 22. Novato Lt. Dave Jeffries, a 28-year veteran in town, is being elevated to the open captain position in charge of the services division and joining patrols division Captain Jim Berg.

There were three lieutenants in the department — Jeffries, John McCarthy and Richard Hill — and Jeffries’ promotion takes that down to two. Tejada’s departure and Jeffries’ promotion means there will not have to be a layoff at that rank, Kreins said.

Tejada spent more than 13 years in Novato and is best known for creating a sexual assault prevention program for girls in addition to serving as a liaison for many other community groups. As Sausalito's chief she will be one of two women leading a police department in Marin County; Trish Seyler-Campbell, a lieutenant with the Marin County Sheriff's Office, is temporarily serving as chief of Belvedere police as part of a lieutenant rotation.

Kreins said Tejada’s departure is “obviously a big loss for our organization. She has been fantastic. She has been one of the best ambassadors the department has ever had in the community.”

At the sergeant rank, most likely the scheduled layoff will be averted by a retirement. Kreins said paperwork has not been filed on any of the anticipated retirements although Sgt. Earl Titman and Sgt. Dave Bettin are eligible. The same goes with Lt. Hill, Kreins said.

“We will be down to 55 sworn officers by the end of June as the result of the two-year budget reduction plan, and we are still slated to cut a records technician position,” Kreins said. “With the previous loss of our school resource officer position, that will take us back to the lowest staffing level in 15 or 20 years.”

Kreins said the department peaked at 63 sworn officers about seven years ago, right as he was joining the Novato force; he was previously chief in Sausalito.

At the officer rank, Kreins said one officer working on a countywide probation enforcement team has a salary paid by a two-year grant that will expire at the end of next year. “We will have to deal with that cut one way or another, but ultimately we could pick up another grant,” he said.

Jeffries will be elevated to captain as of March 6 and assume command of the services division, overseeing personnel, training, dispatch, records, property and emergency services, according to a release. His background includes technical expertise with Marin Emergency Radio Authority, dispatching, records management and in-vehicle computers.

Jeffries, also one of the department’s instructors in many specialty areas, has a masters degree in public administration from Golden Gate University and is pursuing a second masters in emergency and disaster management from the American Military University.

“Dave has been a great employee for years and years,” Kreins said. “He has a tremendous wealth of information when it comes to all the technical aspects of police work. But he was investigative supervisor for several years here, managing that unit, and that management experience is really key at the captain level. He has just done a great job with the watch commander’s office and is going to be a really good fit in the role he’s being promoted to.”

Councilwoman Pat Eklund did not vote in favor of the budget reductions to the police department last year because of her distress about staffing levels. She said she’d like to see more officers out on patrols, including walking the streets.

“Even though we’ve had an increase in population, we’re at our lowest police staffing since 1995, and that’s really cause of for concern,” she said. “People have asked about (voter-approved) Measure F funds and how that might help, but we’re not getting those funds until April and we probably are not going to have Measure F funds until next year’s budget. And once again, those funds are going to expire in five years, so this is something we need to address for the long term.”

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