Taft council hears police report and discussion on vagrancy; receives annual military-equipment report

The Taft City Council received a department report from the Taft Police Department Tuesday, discussed homelessness and vagrancy along the city's rails-to-trails corridor, and voted unanimously to receive and file the Taft Police Department’s 2025 annual military equipment report.

Lieutenant McClurg of the Taft Police Department reported that in August 2025 officers responded to 1,061 incidents, including 445 calls for service and 616 officer-initiated incidents, and made 71 arrests (about 60 misdemeanor arrests and 11 felony arrests). He described ongoing efforts to address repeat offenders and to respond to each citizen call for service, saying, “We respond to every call for service.”

Council members used the department report as the basis for an extended discussion about unhoused people, encampments and public-safety concerns along the rails-to-trails corridor. Councilmember Scribe said volunteers and pantry operators reported a recent theft at the Need Center, stating that “somebody broke into the Need Center and stole about 500 pounds of frozen meat.” Councilmembers urged residents to call police and, when possible, remain available to provide witness statements to aid enforcement.

Senior Manager Joan told the council the city has been working with special counsel to modify the Taft Municipal Code to further delineate allowable behavior on the rails and in parks; she said those code changes would be brought back to council for consideration at a future meeting.

The council also considered the Taft Police Department’s annual military equipment report prepared under Assembly Bill 481 (AB 481). The report lists two armored military-surplus vehicles held by the department: a 2006 AM General armored Humvee and a 2008 BAE Systems MRAP. For both vehicles the report states the equipment was not used during the reporting year, that there were no complaints or internal audit findings, and that annual costs (acquisition, personnel, training, maintenance, storage and related costs) are approximately $500 for the Humvee and $600 for the MRAP. The report lists the general fund as the funding source for fiscal year 2025–26 and notes no planned future acquisitions. The council voted 5–0 to receive and file the annual military equipment report.

During Q&A, Lieutenant McClurg described enforcement options and limitations, noting the department provides citations for low-level offenses and will respond to reports of camping, open drug use, public urination and other criminal conduct. He said the department sometimes provides practical help — for example, officers will buy bus passes if that is what a person wants — while also attempting to redirect individuals to services. He summarized the operational challenge this way: when an arrested person is promptly released without access to treatment beds or court-ordered supervision, “we’re typically encountering the same person” multiple times.

The council passed its consent calendar (items 8–11) by roll call vote 5–0 before the discussion. Consent items listed in the agenda were: approval of minutes for the Aug. 19, 2025 regular meeting; payment of bills (about $280,000); award of on-call asphalt maintenance contracts to Kern Asphalt Paving and Bowman Asphalt Incorporated; and approval of a special-event permit for a carnival at Sixth Street and Supply Row (Sept. 23–Oct. 8, 2025). The staff report for the public-works contracts and the carnival permit cited CEQA screening under California Environmental Quality Act guidelines (section 15060(c)(3) and section 15378).

No new ordinances or immediate funding allocations were adopted during the meeting. The council adjourned open session and recessed to closed session on an anticipated litigation matter.