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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 2025-59 | Smithee, Scot Interim Police Chief Appointment | Adopted 12/08/2025 RESOLUTION NO. 2025-59 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GILROY APPOINTING SCOT SMITHEE AS INTERIM POLICE CHIEF AND APPROVING EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT WHEREAS, Government Code Section 21221(h) permits the City Council to appoint a retired annuitant to a vacant position requiring specialized skills during recruitment for a permanent appointment, and provides that such appointment will not subject the retired person to reinstatement from retirement or loss of benefits so long as it is a single appointment that does not exceed 960 hours in a fiscal year; and WHEREAS, Scot Smithee retired from California Public Employees’ Retirement System employment in 2020; and WHEREAS, the position of Police Chief is currently vacant with a selection to be made by the new City Administrator within a reasonable time period following the City Administrator starting employment; and WHEREAS, Interim Police Chief Binder resigned from his interim Police Chief assignment rather quickly in mid-November to accept appointment with another agency; and WHEREAS, Scot Smithee has over 30 years of experience in law enforcement and extensive expertise in Police Department management for a local government, including having served as Police Chief for the City of Gilroy for over three years; and WHEREAS, the Gilroy City Council desires to consent the City Administrator’s recommendation to appoint retired annuitant Scot Smithee to the vacant position of Interim Police Chief for the City of Gilroy under Government Code Section 21221(h), effective upon completion of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) hiring requirements (estimated to be on or about December 15, 2025); and WHEREAS, an appointment under Government Code Section 21221(h) requires that the City has initiated steps to begin the recruitment process for the vacant position; and WHEREAS, this Section 21221(h) appointment shall only be made once and therefore will end on the date immediately preceding the date on which the permanent replacement for the vacant position of Police Chief for the City of Gilroy commences his or her employment or, if earlier, the date that this appointment is terminated by the City or Scot Smithee; and WHEREAS, the entire employment agreement between Scot Smithee and the City of Gilroy has been reviewed by this body and is attached hereto as Exhibit A; and Docusign Envelope ID: 1F76A6A0-118F-4E08-B10D-89405800BA17 Resolution No. 2025-59 Smithee, Scot Interim Police Chief Appointment City Council Regular Meeting | December 8, 2025 WHEREAS, no matters, issues, terms, and/or conditions related to this employment and appointment have been or will be placed on the consent calendar; and WHEREAS, the employment shall be limited to 960 hours per fiscal year; and WHEREAS, the compensation paid to retirees cannot be less than the minimum nor exceed the maximum monthly base salary paid to other employees performing comparable duties, divided by 173.333 to equal the hourly rate; and WHEREAS, the maximum base monthly salary for this position is $23,427.67 and the hourly equivalent is $135.16 and the minimum base monthly salary for this position is $17,056.25 and the hourly equivalent is $98.40; and WHEREAS, the hourly rate to be paid to Scot Smithee will be $135.16; and WHEREAS, Scot Smithee has not and will not receive any other benefit, incentive compensation in lieu of benefits or any other form of compensation in addition to this hourly pay rate. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Gilroy hereby finds, determines, and resolves as follows: 1. The City Council has considered the full record before it, which may include but is not limited to such things as the staff report, testimony by staff and the public, and other materials and evidence submitted or provided to it. Furthermore, the recitals set forth above are found to be true and correct and are incorporated herein by reference. 2. The City Council hereby certifies the nature of the employment of Scot Smithee as described herein and detailed in the attachment employment agreement and that this appointment is necessary to fill the critically needed position of Police Chief for the City of Gilroy to provide the specialized skills necessary to lead and manage the City’s Police Department. 3. The City Council hereby authorizes the appointment of Scot Smithee to Interim Police Chief effective upon completion of all POST hiring requirements (on or about December 15, 2025) pursuant to the authority provided under Government Code Sections 21221(h), which shall end on the date immediately preceding the date on which the permanent replacement for the vacant position of Police Chief for the City of Gilroy commences his or her employment or, if earlier, the date that this appointment is terminated by the City or Scot Smithee. 4. The employment agreement with Scot Smithee, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A and will be maintained on file with the Human Resources Department, is approved by the City Council on December 8, 2025, effective on completion of all POST hiring requirements (on or about December 15, 2025). Docusign Envelope ID: 1F76A6A0-118F-4E08-B10D-89405800BA17 Resolution No. 2025-59 Smithee, Scot Interim Police Chief Appointment City Council Regular Meeting | December 8, 2025 5. The Interim City Administrator is authorized to execute said agreement on behalf of the City, with such technical amendments as may be deemed appropriate by the Interim City Administrator and City Attorney. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 8th day of December, 2025 by the following roll call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: BRACCO, CLINE, FUGAZZI, HILTON, MARQUES, RAMIREZ, BOZZO NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: NONE ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS: NONE ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: NONE APPROVED: Greg Bozzo, Mayor ATTEST: Kim Mancera, City Clerk Docusign Envelope ID: 1F76A6A0-118F-4E08-B10D-89405800BA17 Resolution No. 2025-59 Smithee, Scot Interim Police Chief Appointment City Council Regular Meeting | December 8, 2025 CERTIFICATE OF THE CLERK I, KIM MANCERA, City Clerk of the City of Gilroy, do hereby certify that the attached Resolution No. 2025-59 is an original resolution, or true and correct copy of a City Resolution, duly adopted by the Council of the City of Gilroy at a Regular Meeting of said held on Council held Monday, December 8, 2025 with a quorum present. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Official Seal of the City of Gilroy this Wednesday, December 10, 2025. ____________________________________ Kim Mancera City Clerk of the City of Gilroy Docusign Envelope ID: 1F76A6A0-118F-4E08-B10D-89405800BA17 Page 1 of 4 EXHIBIT A RETIRED ANNUITANT EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT The Retired Annuitant Employment Agreement (“Agreement”) is made by and between the City of Gilroy, a municipal corporation of the State of California (“City”) and Scot Smithee, an individual (“Retired Annuitant”) effective upon successful completion of all required Peace Officer Standards & Training (POST) hiring requirements (“Effective Date”). RECITALS A. Retired Annuitant previously was employed by the City of Gilroy for over thirty years to include three (3) years as Police Chief; and B. Retired Annuitant retired from the City of Gilroy effective June 1, 2020 and began collecting a retirement pension from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS); and C. The City has a vacancy in the position of Police Chief, a regular position for which the City is conducting a recruitment for a permanent appointment; and D. The City has an immediate need for an employee to temporarily perform the position of Police Chief, a position involving specialized skills and training and which is critically necessary to the on- going duties and functions of the City’s Police Department; and E. Retired Annuitant has the necessary qualifications, experience and abilities to assist City in the duties of management of the Police Department; and F. Retired Annuitant’s employment is authorized by Government Code section 21221(h), which permits the City to appoint a CalPERS retired annuitant to a vacant position requiring specialized skills during recruitment for a permanent replacement. G. City desires to retain the services of Retired Annuitant in accordance with California Government Code Section 21221(h) and Retired Annuitant agrees to provide certain services to City under the strict terms and conditions set out in this Agreement. In consideration of this matter described above and of the mutual benefits and obligations set forth in this Agreement, the receipt and sufficiency of which consideration is hereby acknowledged, the parties of this Agreement agree as follows: AGREEMENT Section 1. Term of Services The term of this Agreement is from successful completion of Peace Officer Standards & Training (POST) hiring requirements (estimated to be December 15, 2025) until such time as a permanent replacement for the position of Police Chief has been selected and has commenced employment, unless terminated sooner as provided below. Docusign Envelope ID: 1F76A6A0-118F-4E08-B10D-89405800BA17 Page 2 of 4 Section 2. Scope of Services Retired Annuitant, as an officer of the city, agrees to perform the following duties related to the Gilroy Police Department: • Administer and manage comprehensive police services such as the preservation of order, protection of life and property and the enforcement of laws and municipal ordinances, all in a strong partnership with the community, using customer service techniques. • Formulate and enforce departmental rules, policies and procedures, and maintain effective discipline. • Manage the selection and assignment of Police Department employees. • Review and approve departmental personnel actions. • Direct the administration of staff training programs. • Formulate the annual departmental budget, and control budget expenditures. • Prepare regular and requested oral and written reports for presentation to the City Administrator and the City Council. • Direct the preparation of internal reports, orders, and directives. • Direct the preparation of external reports such as criminal statistic reports to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, and California Highway Patrol. • Administer the communications operations, records, permits and licensing. • Administer the Law Enforcement Branch of the City’s Emergency Operations Center. • Coordinate Police service activities with those of other law enforcement and related organizations. • Confer with attorneys and others in connection with prosecution of law violators, defending and protecting the City against civil liability and administrative personnel practices. • Attend public administration conferences, meetings, and seminars. • Perform public liaison work to maximize citizen support and to formulate and explain Police policies, programs, and activities. • Perform Police and field duties including but not limited to incident command of major operations. • Perform other related duties as assigned. Retired Annuitant will report directly to the City Administrator. Retired Annuitant shall comply with all City rules, policies, guidelines, regulations, and laws. Section 3. Compensation; Hours City agrees to compensate Retired Annuitant at $135.16 per hour for all services provided under this Agreement. Payments from City to Retired Annuitant shall be made during the normal payroll cycles of other City employees. Docusign Envelope ID: 1F76A6A0-118F-4E08-B10D-89405800BA17 Page 3 of 4 City has reviewed and compared the hourly rate set forth in this Section with other employees performing comparable duties and the hourly rate set forth in this Section does not exceed such other employees’ compensation. Retired Annuitant agrees and acknowledges that he shall not perform any services under this Agreement or as an extra help retired annuitant exceeding a total of nine hundred sixty (960) hours during any fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) inclusive of any hours worked during the same period for other CalPERS employers as a retired annuitant. Retired Annuitant shall record his hours on a pre- approved timesheet that shall be submitted to the City every month. The position is a temporary, hourly assignment which is generally not expected to exceed 40 hours per week. The City, through the City Administrator, will assign Retired Annuitant hours to work. Due to the nature of the position, it is understood that the workday and workweek hours may vary, however Retired Annuitant shall not work overtime (i.e. in excess of 40 hours per week) as payment of overtime is prohibited under Government Code Section 21221(h). There are no other benefits, incentives, compensation in lieu of benefits or other forms of compensation in addition to the hourly pay rate set forth in this Section. Section 4. Location The primary location for services will be at the following addresses: Gilroy Police Department, 7301 Hanna Street, Gilroy, California 95020 Gilroy City Hall, 7351 Rosanna Street, Gilroy, California 95020 Section 5. Compliance with Laws This Agreement will be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws in the State of California. In the event that suit shall be brought by any of the parties, the parties agree that venue shall be exclusively vested in the state courts of the County of Santa Clara, or if federal jurisdiction is appropriate, exclusively in the United States District Court, Northern District of California, San Jose, California. Retired Annuitant shall comply with all applicable laws, rules, policies, and guidelines. Retired Annuitant agrees and acknowledges that the State of California and the governing body of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System enact strict laws, regulations and guidelines relating to services provided by “retired annuitants” to public agencies contracting with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. Retired Annuitant agrees to comply with all applicable laws, regulations and guidelines relating to the services provided under this Agreement. Section 6. Termination This Agreement may be terminated by either party for convenience by providing written notice to the other party. Section 7. Miscellaneous a. Retired Annuitant has read each and every part of this Agreement and Retired Annuitant freely and voluntarily has entered into this Agreement. This Agreement is a negotiated document and shall Docusign Envelope ID: 1F76A6A0-118F-4E08-B10D-89405800BA17 Page 4 of 4 not be interpreted for or against any party by reason of the fact that such party may have drafted this Agreement or any of its provisions. b. If a court of competent jurisdiction finds or rules that any provision of this Agreement is invalid, void, or unenforceable, the provisions of this Agreement not so adjusted shall remain in full force and effect. The invalidity in whole or in part of any provision of this Agreement shall not void or affect the validity of any other provision of this Agreement. c. This Agreement represents the entire and integrated agreement between City and Retired Annuitant and supersedes all prior negotiations, representations, or agreements, either written or oral. In witness where of the parties have duly affixed their signatures on this __ day of December, 2025. Employer: City of Gilroy Brad Kilger, Interim City Administrator Employment Effective Date Retired Annuitant Scot Smithee Approved as to Form: Andrew L. Faber, City Attorney Attest: Kim Mancera, City Clerk Docusign Envelope ID: 1F76A6A0-118F-4E08-B10D-89405800BA17