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Rohnert Park reviews public-safety staffing, recruitment and DEI plans
Summary
City staff reported on public-safety accomplishments, staffing challenges and HR recruitment and DEI initiatives; Chief Tim Matos outlined recruitment/retention steps and hiring numbers and Jamie Cannon described hiring tools, blind‑review pilots and a proposal to join the 30x30 pledge.
Rohnert Park — City leaders on Sept. 24 received two related reports on recruitment, diversity and public‑safety staffing as staff outlined both operational changes and longer-term workforce commitments.
Director and Chief of Public Safety Tim Matos summarized FY 23–24 accomplishments — including conversion of a fire‑inspector position to full time, expanded public-education outreach, monthly multi-agency drills, installation of 10 Flock cameras and piloting 24‑hour battalion chief coverage — and described goals for 24–25 such as reviewing standards of coverage, beginning recruitment to reach three‑person engine staffing ("3‑0") funded by Measure H and installing electric-vehicle charging infrastructure for department vehicles.
On recruitment, Matos described a difficult hiring market: he said the department lost 15 public-safety officers during the fiscal year and hired 14, with multiple recruits still in academies or training. He explained the city uses an "overhire" authority to keep hiring pipelines moving, has added lateral-hire incentives and signing bonuses and runs year‑round recruitment at fairs, military bases and college events. "We are recruiting 12 months a year," Matos told the council, and he described alternative academy arrangements and field‑training timelines designed to shorten the path to active duty.
Jamie Cannon, director of human resources, presented the city's recruitment and DEI initiatives. Cannon described the city's use of the NeoGov applicant‑tracking system, efforts to ensure job descriptions do not create barriers, and planned steps toward blind‑resume review to reduce implicit bias. Cannon also said the city is considering a diversity, equity and inclusion ("belonging") committee by 2025 and proposed bringing a 30x30 pledge — a national effort to advance women in policing to 30% by 2030 — to the council; she said Rohnert Park currently has about 17% women among sworn officers.
Council members asked detailed questions about candidate pools, telework allowances for non‑field positions, background checks for lateral hires and community engagement. Several councilmembers praised increased community outreach and the department's approach to school engagement and neighborhood presence. Matos acknowledged continuing challenges in recruiting dispatchers and community participation in a proposed public‑safety roundtable but said the city will continue outreach and partnership efforts.
What the reports signal: city leaders emphasize a mix of compensation incentives, recruitment pipelines (including local outreach and university partnerships), and training investments to stabilize staffing while protecting public‑safety service levels. The department framed the combined police/fire public‑safety model as a recruiting asset but said it requires sustained training and retention work.
Sources: Department of Public Safety presentation by Chief Tim Matos; HR presentation by Jamie Cannon.
