THE POLICE CHIEF
Jerry Dyer has been a Fresno cop since 1980. He’s been chief since August 1, 2001. He’s well on his way to being longest-serving chief in city history.
But the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) almost certainly will end his Fresno P.D. career before the new mayor’s first term is up.
DROP is hard to explain in a few words. It allows a city employee at a certain point to deposit monthly pension checks in an investment account while continuing to work for the city.
Bottom line: An employee can be in DROP for a maximum of 10 years. After that, it’s goodbye to the city payroll. Dyer’s DROP deadline is late 2019.
The new mayor taking office in January 2017 has several options. He can ask for Dyer’s resignation (actually, per the City Charter, the city manager would do the asking). He can keep Dyer on the job for another 30 months or so. And I suppose he could watch Dyer’s DROP deadline come and go, then keep the chief on board via some type of free-lance contract.
But no one sticks around forever. It’s not healthy for an organization.
Will the post-Dyer era begin with a chief selected from the Fresno P.D. ranks? That’s the usual hunting ground. If so, the time is way past to begin filling the ranks of deputy chiefs. We have two. We used to have four.
I have known Lee for years. He’s a stand up guy and the only one who has been in business and has run a successful business. He’s been an effective councilmen. With that said, I was unhappy that he supported a lawsuit against McCaffery Homes for building across the river in Madera County. What one person or company chooses to do in another county is none of the business of Fresno other than to figure out how to deal with the loss of revenue. Certainly not with a frivolous law suit. Henry Perea is a snake and a typical career politician. He has done nothing save live off of the tax payer. Time to permanently retire this loser from public life. H. Spees is a good guy and has good leadership skills. I am unsure of his business skills which will be needed in this race.