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Willows council debates restarting police department, directs staff to study bond capacity
Summary
Council members debated whether to hire an interim police chief and how to finance reestablishing a Willows Police Department. City Manager presented startup and operating cost ranges; council agreed to have staff analyze the city's bond/debt-service capacity and finish mitigation talks with the sheriff's office for firmer cost estimates.
The Willows City Council spent extensive discussion time on March 24 considering whether to begin rebuilding a local police department and how to finance that work. City Manager Marty Brown summarized a January 2025 municipal resource group (MRG) report and a sheriff's office memo showing wide possible costs and urged caution before committing to staffing or capital outlays.
Brown told the council hiring a police chief or interim police chief would cost roughly $220,000 to $240,000 in total compensation depending on retirement plan status. He said one-time startup costs for a new department were estimated in January 2025 at between $832,000 and $1.8 million and that initial ongoing…
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