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Taft swears in reserve officer; council approves consent items including audited financials
Summary
The Taft City Council swore in David Lawson as a reserve police officer and approved routine consent calendar items (10–15) by a 4-0 roll-call vote, including payment of bills and receipt of the FY 2022-23 audited financial statements. The council then recessed to closed session for labor, property and litigation matters.
David Lawson was sworn in as a reserve police officer at the Taft City Council meeting on June 16, 2026, and received a badge during a brief ceremony.
Lawson, introduced by the mayor and council, was described as having 14 years of law enforcement experience with detention and patrol assignments and as currently serving as a district administrator at a Bakersfield-area school. "It's an honor to wear this badge and it's going to be an honor to serve this community," Lawson said after taking the oath.
Following the ceremony, the council moved through its consent calendar (items 10'15) and approved the slate on a 4-0 roll-call vote. The items included approval of the minutes of the June 2, 2026 meeting; payment of bills totaling $94,650; the engineer's report for Landscape and Lighting Maintenance District No. 1 and a resolution setting a public hearing for July 21, 2026; a resolution determining reasonable efforts to encourage public participation under Government Code section 54953.4; information on commercial waste will-serve procedures; and receipt of the audited comprehensive financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2023.
What happened next: After approving the consent calendar, the council announced it would adjourn to closed session to address labor negotiations (the city's labor negotiator is City Manager Craig Jones), real-property negotiations and existing and anticipated litigation, including Taft Union High School v. City of Taft (Kern County case S-1500-CV-28384).
Context and significance: The swearing-in adds personnel capacity to the Taft Police Department; the consent calendar approval completes routine administrative items including formal receipt of audited financial statements for FY 2022-23. The announced closed-session items indicate ongoing legal and negotiation matters for the council to consider behind closed doors.
