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Chief: Guadalupe patrol staffing below minimum; city plans 30-day notice for safety impact fee
Summary
Director of Public Safety Chief Cash told the council the department is operating below minimum patrol staffing, described coordination issues from the recent parade and a rescue at an encampment, and said staff will roll out a public-safety impact fee with about a 30-day community notification period.
Guadalupe’s director of public safety, Chief Cash, told the City Council on Sept. 24 that the police department is operating with fewer officers on patrol than the department’s staffing minimums and that administrative personnel have been filling patrol duties to maintain coverage.
"We are well below minimum right now as far as officers in the field," Chief Cash said, describing how management staff have stepped into patrol shifts and the city is coordinating mutual‑aid agreements with Santa Maria and county sheriffs for backup. He said the department plans a critique of recent parade operations after vendors attempted to enter venues after streets were closed.
Chief Cash also reported a soft opening inspection of a new local dispensary, Route 1 Dispensary, and that the department conducted security reviews after break‑ins at other facilities. He described an incident in which sheriff's special units conducted a search near McKenzie for a homicide suspect and a separate response to an unhoused encampment near Paco Park where emergency responders rescued people and found drug‑related items.
On planning, the chief said Guadalupe will participate in a countywide evacuation mapping system (Genesis) and that staff will be trained to enter emergency contact and resource data into the platform. He said staff anticipate public feedback when the city rolls out a proposed public‑safety impact fee; the initial plan described at the meeting included a roughly 30‑day notification and community comment period.
Council members asked how the chief will balance meeting attendance with maintaining local patrol coverage. The chief said the department has a lieutenant and mutual‑aid arrangements as backup and that he remains available via radio while attending meetings.
The report closed with staff commitments to formalize parade‑vendor guidelines and to continue outreach about the proposed impact fee before any formal council action.
