Interim Police Chief Koford takes over

As the second safest city in California, Clayton has benefitted from a seamless transition with the hiring of an interim police chief during our search for a permanent hire. Interim Police Chief Doug Koford was enjoying retirement but was happy to come help us.

Chief Koford was the twice-elected Napa County Sheriff from 2007 until his retirement in 2012. Prior to that he was the Police Chief of American Canyon for five years and has been in law enforcement since 1985. As you read this, Chief Koford will have already been a judge for the Clayton Business and Community Association’s Rib Cook-off and has been ensuring we remain safe in our little haven.

Unfortunately the chief has indicated that there has been a rash of vehicle burglaries in Clayton and other cities and urges everyone to keep their vehicles locked and valuables hidden.

The deadline for applications for a permanent chief run-through the middle of August and then we will go through an interview process and hope to have a new permanent hire in short order.

Lighting up Clayton: We also have some of the best darn streets in California and we hope that many of you saw that our 2015 Neighborhood Street Repaving Project was completed in July using dedicated funds and not dipping into our General Fund. Lighting those streets has become less costly and more environmentally friendly as both PG&E and the city (through PG&E) have been and will continue to retrofit street lights to LED. We are doing it right.

Good money news: How about some sound fiscal management to round out the good news? Recently, Gary Napper, our great city manager, and his staff were able to conclude negotiations with the State of California of disputed monies regarding the dissolution of our Redevelopment Agency. There is a lot of bureaucracy involved in wrapping up these agencies throughout the state and many cities have sued or may sue the state over disputed funds. But with the assistance of new State Senator Steve Glazer, we obtained word that disputed agency obligations totaling $976,899 would be recovered by the city. This is a huge successful outcome for our city, and avoids the unpleasant necessity of having to sue the state. Congrats to our staff for a great job on behalf of the City of Clayton.

Tech-savvy Clayton: New Community Development Director Mindy Gentry is also spearheading a Technology and Modernization Plan with the goal of installing and utilizing technology in order to be more efficient. This will allow staff to spend more time conducting the city’s business and to do more with less, especially given the city’s limited financial resources. Further, utilizing technology to create efficient and streamlined processes will not only help city staff be more productive, but will provide additional tools to enhance our assistance and accountability to the public. Yes, for good or bad, our city abacus and slide rules will be updated.

In honor of technology and improvement, I changed my password to “incorrect.” So whenever I forget what it is the computer will say “Your password is incorrect.”

Email me at dshuey@ci.clayton.ca.us.