CA Chief: Need Great for More Firefighters, Station Upgrades

The city's police and fire departments told a special Vallejo City Council meeting Tuesday night that they are understaffed, while an economic department official said her staff is underpaid.

Beginning an evening of progress reports and updates from a host of city departments, Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams highlighted his department's collaboration with the Department of Justice, which was called in after a series of officer-involved shootings in Vallejo. Currently, Williams says that six new policies have been submitted to DOJ consultants for review.

The chief also mentioned the department's expanded websites, which provide something he said that the community has demanded — greater transparency and accountability.

He also said that several trainings will be occurring, including implicit bias training, which helps officers and staff identify prejudices they might not know that they have, and de-escalation, crisis intervention and mental health training.

Williams put a great emphasis on his push to better connect the department with the community. Operation P.E.A.C.E. — focusing on community intervention and the reduction of gun violence — was recently implemented.

Staffing, recruiting and retention are all high priorities, he said. On an average day, said Williams, there are just 41 officers in the field.

In 2020, the department received 168,000 calls for service, 73,000 of which were from 9-1-1 calls. Officers themselves initiated 7,543 calls while on patrol. Vallejo's murder rate is among the highest in the state, with 28 last year.

There were also 133 rapes, 269 shootings, 747 cases of aggravated assault, and 4,407 abandoned vehicles. With only five detectives on staff, Williams said it is a challenge. He also said how proud he is of his officers.

"I'm very grateful to our women and men of the VPD, both civilian and sworn staff that do an outstanding job with the resources they've been given," he said.

Besides the need for far more staffing, Williams brought up the need for a new police station. The current station has asbestos and lead deposits, and there is not enough room for everyone. He also expressed the need for a community resource center on-site to interact with victims and their families, connect with social services, and generally provide compassionate assistance for people in need.

Williams also went over the technology they have employed, such as license plate readers, drones, and hopefully a new radio system to replace the antiquated one they currently use.

This is just a fraction of what the chief covered. A complete recording of Williams' comments is on the city's website.

Next up was Fire Chief Daryl Arbuthnott. His challenges were similar to the police — the need for more staffing, upgrading stations, and improving technology like the radio system.

Arbuthnott said that there are only 22 firefighters on staff each day. "We are below our staffing capacity," he said.

He also said they only have one fire inspector. The department is mandated by the state to inspect various buildings like schools and apartments, but it is a challenge to do so and only 47 percent of them were inspected over the last year.

The closed "Glen Cove" fire station could possibly have been reopened if Measure G had passed, he said. But he told the council that funds need to be dedicated to updating 50-year-old stations. They also need reliable radios, upgrades to the tone alerting system in stations, parking lot security for staff, and the ability to switch to EMS/Fire trained dispatchers who can assist callers until help comes.

Finally, it was time for the economic departments to share their information. The planning development and economic development departments are working on upgrading software to better facilitate their work, including a "one-stop shop" for developers to visit and see the city's zoning map and what projects are currently underway.

Much of the discussion was a very detailed listing of current projects and plans for the future, such as Mare Island development, enhancing the waterfront, reusing vacant lots, and improving technology.

Deputy City Manager Gillian Hayes cut to the chase with some sober personal truths: She is overworked and underpaid, and it's a symptom of the entire department, which she said is struggling to be productive and efficient with minimal staffing.

"I'm just going to be real and I'm just going to be raw, because that's how I am," she told the council. "I love this city. I love this community. And I have really put some blood, sweat and tears in the last 16 months. But I've also been working 55 to 60 hours a week for 16 months. It's not sustainable."

Hayes said that her department has lost four key employees who left for more money in other cities. She herself has been offered jobs for less work but as much as $50,000 more, she said, but she is committed to staying in Vallejo for five years.

"It's hard to attract and retain staff when the salary and benefits (elsewhere) are just way above what we're offering," she said.

The council committed to making the issue part of its upcoming goal-setting sessions.

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