Sunnyvale Public Safety Chief Regan Williams announced his retirement last Friday, after 29 years of service with the Public Safety Department. His departure comes on the heels of well-publicized problems within the department.
While maintaining that his end-of-May departure is based largely on personal issues, Williams did acknowledge that tensions within the department played a part in the decision. Much of the angst has surrounded a 19-month-long contract dispute between the city and the PSOA, which spawned a divisive public battle in the November election over grievance arbitration. Officers thought Williams regularly sided with the city on such issues, leading them to a no-confidence vote in January.
"Those factors did come into play, but the bottom line is that I've been doing this a long, long time," Williams said. "As chief, when I support the City Council, that doesn't mean that I don't also support my officers. But it puts me in an interesting position, because as director, that support of the city shouldn't be at the detriment of the people working under me."
Jim Davis, a Sunnyvale Public Safety officer, said there is a correlation between the recent disputes and Williams' departure.
"I think that the whole specter of the no-confidence vote--the internal problems and the binding arbitration--probably had a lot to do with it," he said.
Kelly Fitzgerald, PSOA president, said he was surprised when he heard of Williams' decision. "He's not the kind of person who would just give up and walk away," Fitzgerald said.
In addressing the theory that the lingering contract negotiations and the no-confidence vote pressured Williams to retire, Fitzgerald emphasized that the results of the vote are no longer an issue and have been "dealt with."
"He's qualified and able to retire, and I think it was a personal decision. The contract negotiations are a separate issue, regardless of who sits in the director's chair," Fitzgerald said.
He also credits Williams for some recent improvements in the department's internal communications; Williams has helped to form joint PSOA/management committees.
City manager Bob LaSala expects that it will take six months to go through the process of finding a new director, which will include a national search "in order to evaluate the broadest pool of talent and ensure that we get the person best suited to lead our Public Safety Department into the next century."
Like Fitzgerald, Davis said the news of Williams' retirement came as a shock. "[Williams] admitted within the last couple weeks that he was really committed to turning the criticism and problems within the department around," Davis said. "It was one of the first positive things I had heard, and I thought we were really on the road to turning things around. That's part of why I'm so surprised."
Williams admits some disappointment at leaving with lingering problems, but feels confident that resolution of key sticking points is forthcoming.
"My sense is that it will be all right, that we've made some really good recommendations and that we're listening and talking to each other more," he said. "I think people are already working together better."
Despite Williams' optimism, the PSOA's attorney has contacted the city to discuss officers' allegations that the city is in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to Valerie Armento, city attorney. Some of the PSOA's complaints concern overtime rates and compensatory time off, Armento said. Though a lawsuit hasn't been filed, the city is researching the issue, she said, adding that the PSOA's claims are "based on incorrect information."
"The facts indicate that this isn't an issue," she said.
Fitzgerald stands by the PSOA's action. "We thought it would be best to make this more formal," he said. "It's [the city's] intention not to have this turn into a lengthy, drawn-out federal lawsuit, but we're willing to do that if it can't be worked out."
Williams has served as director of the Sunnyvale Public Safety Department for the past seven years, after joining the force as a public safety officer in 1970. During his tenure, Sunnyvale has consistently ranked as one of the safest cities, ranking third in its category this past year.
"It's been a tough job with a lot of stresses, but it's been a great job," Williams said.
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
