Santa Cruz seeks a new police chief

The announcement this week that Santa Cruz Police Chief Andy Mills was leaving later this month after about four years on the job, was not all that surprising, since the rumor mill had been working overtime about his departure and possible replacement.

What was surprising was that Mills is not retiring, but quitting to take over as chief in Palm Springs. The chief said one reason is that his grandkids live in the San Diego area and he’ll be closer to them.

Between his new salary and pension benefits, he’ll be able to afford the huge air conditioning bills that make life possible in the Coachella Valley, when summer temperatures can stay above 110 degrees.

Not exactly the Santa Cruz climate.

It was the local climate that contributed to Mills’ appointment as chief in 2017 after the city had gone through divisive federal immigration raids, and after the murder of two beat cops and ongoing tensions over what some viewed as heavy-handed law enforcement. Santa Cruz sought a chief seen as embodying the city’s progressive values.

And, for the most part,

Mills was that kind of chief, one whose tenure has been marked by openness and a willingness to express accountability.

But the local climate also has its challenges, and Mills’ frustrations at finding an equitable solution to the city homelessness problems, including drug abuse and mental health issues, were evident in a recent meeting with the Sentinel Editorial Board.

Mills also expressed dismay that more people with criminal tendencies are on the street due to voter-approved reforms in the criminal justice and prison systems and because the pandemic has slowed court proceedings to a crawl.

Mills’ salary as Santa Cruz’s chief of police is more than $223,000 a year. He’ll see an increase in his new position as Palm Springs chief at $243,000. Palm Springs has a population of about 48,000.

But Mills doesn’t just receive salary compensation. He also receives government pension benefits. According to the online site Transparent California, he received about $112,000 in 2019 pension payments from the city of San Diego, for his nearly 22 years in that city’s police department. Mills subsequently was police chief in Eureka (Humboldt County), also for four years, before taking the Santa Cruz job in 2017. Both those positions, however, are covered under CalPERS retirement benefits, as is Palm Springs. Mills can continue to accrue benefits under CalPERS in his new job, that at some point can be added to his San Diego pension.

The state pension system is set up so that in many California cities a police officer can receive 50% of his or her final average salary at 20 years of service, with the benefit sometimes reaching 90% of a final average salary at 33 or more years of service.

It is not uncommon for highly paid local government employees, to step down in one city and then take another job, sometimes at a higher salary, while continuing to receive pension benefits. There’s nothing illegal about double dipping, or that prevents people from collecting a CalPERS pension and working for an agency in a different pension system or vice versa.

We also hope the city chooses someone from within the SCPD as the new chief. Hiring police chiefs from out of town can cause resentment within a department, especially when there are able people in top positions ready to step in, which, with Bernie Escalante and Jose Garcia, the SCPD already has. The appointment of either would give the city a Latino chief.

First, though, Interim City Manager Rosemary Menard will appoint an interim chief, who may have an inside track on the permanent job. Menard took over the interim position after former City Manager Martin Bernal retired at the end of July. One somewhat surprising candidate for the permanent job is Santa Cruz County Supervisor Ryan Coonerty who earlier this year announced he was stepping down after two terms on the Board of Supervisors. Coonerty also is a former Santa Cruz City Council member.

Supervisors are paid about $124,000. Bernal was paid more than $233,000 plus benefits. Perhaps Coonerty’s interest is not all that surprising.