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Chief introduces two new officers; community service officer outlines outreach and enforcement approach
Summary
The police chief introduced two new hires — Officer Keith Colby and Community Service Officer Paula Espinosa — and Espinosa described the department's outreach‑first approach to property complaints, including a warning period followed by a 72‑hour notice and rare referrals to the city attorney.
Holdridge’s police chief introduced two new staff members to the council and the public and provided an update on community enforcement work.
The chief said the department had hired Officer Keith Colby and Community Service Officer Paula Espinosa; Espinosa told the council she began work on Aug. 5 and described her casework approach as focused on outreach and cooperation.
Espinosa said she attempts face‑to‑face contact and uses a staged enforcement approach: informal contact and encouragement, a week of voluntary progress where appropriate, then a formal 72‑hour notice if there is no meaningful change. "If after those 72 hours, they still make no progress, then I will find them. And I think I've only had to turn 2 over to the city attorney. Every other one's been fine about working with me," Espinosa said.
The chief also said the department is recruiting for another officer and expects a training assignment in January. Councilmembers thanked the new staff and noted the community resource officer can help residents who are reluctant to be publicly identified when making complaints.
Why it matters: the community service officer role is a front‑line resource for code enforcement and community engagement; Espinosa’s described approach emphasizes working with residents to address aesthetics, weeds and property maintenance before formal legal action is needed.
No formal vote or budget action accompanied the introductions at this meeting.
