Hiring police a tough beat to walk...

Hiring police a tough beat to walk

In response to your article on the Huntington Beach Police

Department’s hiring of retired officers, I say it is a good idea in

the short term (“Walking a familiar beat,” Jan. 27). The more

difficult situation involves the hiring and training of full-time

officers. City Administrator Penny Culbreth-Graft mentioned coming up

with a plan to attract experienced officers to come on the

department. The problem with that solution is that most experienced

officers already have the pay and retirement plans that Huntington

Beach has and the move would require the experienced officer to give

up a very important benefit, seniority.

I am a resident of Huntington Beach and I work for a police agency

in Los Angeles County. As a 40-year-old detective with 15 years

experience I would love to trade straight across and perform my job

for Huntington Beach instead of where I am at. The commute is

difficult and will ultimately have me retiring much earlier than if I

were close. I would also love to contribute my abilities to the

people of the city I live in. The reason that I and most everyone

else with my similar experience won’t do it is the loss of seniority.

I can pick a shift that I like and I am in a good position for

promotional consideration. Moving to a new department causes the

senior officer to have to start over. To work patrol on weekend

graveyard shifts for several years, to have to wait even more years

after that for promotion or detective assignments is not worth the

trade off.

A solution would be to give the incoming officers the seniority

they have with the departments they are leaving. That would go far in

attracting the experienced officers, but at the expense of alienating

officers who have already given many years of time to gain a position

just to lose it to an officer coming from another department. It is a

difficult task to recruit, hire and train new officers. I hope that

somehow the city can appropriate some funding for a hiring task force

that can be augmented in the short term by the retired officers. The

ultimate goal should be to hire and train new officers and get the

department up to full staffing with a young base of officers who will

be on our streets for the next 20 or more years.

MIKE STILTON

Huntington Beach

Part-time solution no good, needs limits

I think HB police Chief Ken Small’s idea to hire 10 retired

officers “part-time” is not a good one, but if the program should go

through then set the time limit to one year, not three years. During

this one-year new recruits can be hired reducing the retired

“part-time” officers head count. Each year as new recruits come on

board more retired “part-time” officers can be let go.

I agree with Supervisor Chris Norby: County employees should

either retire or continue working full time.

I question City Administrator Penny Culbreth-Graft’s comment about

the patrols becoming dangerously low. I believe Small is not managing

the resources effectively. A prime example is Main Street, where more

than a handful of officers sit in their cars and/or on their

motorcycles, parked doing the same as the officers that walk Main

Street. The walking officers are much more efficient. The cars and

motorcycles should be patrolling. Of course one patrol car and

motorcycle should still be used on Main Street, in case they are

needed.

In reality the City Council and mayor should question why did the

city’s police have a string of recent resignations. Is Small the

problem? Is the compensation and benefits for a Huntington Beach

officer in line with the industry? Can we make it better to keep

officers and/or lure officers from other cites?

CHUB DOMOTOR

Huntington Beach

Part-time plan a win-win for all

The question asked about whether to rehire 10 retired police

officers brings to light several thoughts.

The first glaring reality is that the Huntington Beach Police

Department has been reduced to staffing levels which remind me of

what it was staffed at 20 years ago. So what does this mean to the

residents of Huntington Beach? It means reductions in service that we

have grown accustom to. It means fewer officers patrolling the

streets day and night, it means slower response time to calls for

service, it means fewer detectives doing follow-up investigations

after crimes have occurred, it means fewer traffic officers

performing proactive traffic enforcement, it means not taking reports

like we used to, it means crime rates are growing instead of dropping

and it means a loss of institutional knowledge. The years of reduced

budgets means a loss of service for the residents of Huntington

Beach.

The advantage to hiring retired officers back offer Huntington

Beach a win -- win situation. The persons being hired back on a

part-time bases would be able to jump into their assigned duties

immediately. There would be no need for new training as they would

already be familiar with the practices and systems Huntington Beach

uses. The city would not have to pay benefits to these persons other

than an hourly wage. The person being hired back wins by getting an

extra paycheck but they also get to be involved in a field that they

typically loved. The hired person brings back with them a wealth of

institutional knowledge.

The city of Huntington Beach, until budgets make a drastic

about-face, can not afford to hire the additional police officers we

should have to police the city. The city wins because they can hire

back these experienced personnel and plug them into the many open

holes in the Police Department, thus picking up the ever building

workload. This is a no-brainer and is a win-win for all.

CURTIS J. COPE

Huntington Beach

Part-time work isn’t double dipping

I am opposed to any building of homes on the upper portion of the

Bolsa Chica Mesa.

I think the hiring of retired police officers for a 20-hour week,

which does not interfere with their pensions, is a great idea and

should be pursued. They could, of course, always take a job with

another entity for 20 hours a week, which would not affect their

pensions, so why not take advantage of their experience and have the

city hire them? It is not “double dipping” -- all of us who are

retired can continue to work and this is a ridiculous argument.

CHLOE POLLOCK MIECZKOWSKI

Huntington Beach

Don’t leave human society alone yet

I have been quoted numerous times in articles in various

newspapers regarding the Orange County Humane Society. I have spoken

at city council meetings in both Westminster and Costa Mesa, both of

which contract with the shelter for animal control services.

Westminster seems to lack any semblance of concern over the situation

but Costa Mesa has taken a somewhat more proactive approach. Will it

be enough? That remains to be seen.

A major concern of mine that I brought to the attention of the

city of Costa Mesa in letters and at a council meeting was the

apparent lack of any accountability for the spay/neuter fees

collected by the humane society for Costa Mesa strays. By law, these

funds can only be used for specific purposes and belong to the city,

not to society. In trying to find answers to my questions through the

City Attorney’s office I found very little assistance and much

resistance.

The report into the investigation of the humane society is now

complete and available for public viewing. I am pleased to find that

one of the recommendations in the report is for the city to audit the

spay/neuter fees that the society collects to ensure proper

allocation of them. It also recommends future periodic audits and

suggests that it would be prudent for the city to collect these funds

instead of the society. Obviously, the investigators also feel there

is reason to be concerned about these fees.

I hope residents of Costa Mesa will keep pressure on their City

Council to follow through with the recommendations outlined in the

report.

SHELLY HUNTER

Huntington Beach

Former volunteer unhappy with report

I am a Costa Mesa resident and a former volunteer for the Orange

County Humane Society. I have recently completed reviewing the Costa

Mesa police department report into the investigation regarding

allegations brought against the shelter.

One of my main concerns with this report is the fact that many of

the allegations brought against the shelter by former employees,

former volunteers and the general public could only be substantiated

by speaking directly with those who actually witnessed the conditions

and incidents reported. That was not done. The police department was

provided with a list of 40 people willing to testify under oath if

necessary to what they have witnessed. They were not contacted, as

far as I know. It does not present an unbiased view of accusations

when Samir Botros and/or his staff are questioned about allegations

and then are just taken at their word. Does their word hold more

weight than former employees, former volunteers and the public? More

people should have been contacted, especially former employees, who

could have added so much to the investigation.

Another concern of mine is the use of unlicensed assistants in the

veterinary hospital. In the report, I see that Botros was questioned

about this, and his response was that he had two licensed vet

technicians. It does not appear that this was verified through the

state Veterinary Board. This can be easily accomplished through their

online database with the name of the person claiming to be licensed.

In addition, any licensed vet techs working in a vet office must

display their license.

I do hope that the City Council will follow through with the

recommendations presented in the report, especially those concerning

accountability of the spay/neuter fines collected and putting an

oversight committee into place.

CAROL HOLLAND

Costa Mesa

Long-term mesa tenants need thought

In regard to the proposal by the developer of Hearthside Homes to

be allowed to build on the Bolsa Chica Mesa, I feel we must weigh the

benefits to the city of adding 347 new houses in the environmentally

sensitive area and the argument against.

As I recall Hearthside still does not have access to water unless

Huntington Beach allows them to use the over-stretched city supply,

or let them import it from outside the area. Either solution has an

effect on the city. If the site is located in the county will Orange

County provide police and fire protection, will the children attend

Huntington Beach schools? With 347 homes an additional 700 to 1,000

car will be added to the already congested Bolsa Chica Avenue, Warner

Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway. The only exit from this tract of

land is north, as the south is closed off by the wetlands. This will

have a major impact not only on these major through fares, but on the

surrounding residential streets that are already use as cut through

and will create an even greater potentially dangerous situation.

And lastly, and most important, the mesa is still the last large

undeveloped area in the city where wild creatures live as they have

for centuries. An article in the Jan. 27 Independent reported the

presents of a bald eagle seen over the Bolsa Chica Mesa, looking for

a future home, would seem more of a priority resident that 347 buyers

that have options in the city and county. The tourist interest in the

eagle could also be important new image builder to “Surf City.”

Before we celebrate a victory over the larger development, we

should take a look at what any development takes away from the

quality of life of the residents of Huntington Beach and those

long-term creature tenants of the mesa, who should have first call,

and need more advocates.

PETER M. CLARK

Huntington Beach