The city of Ceres has opted to dissolve its Department of Public Safety and establish separate police and fire departments.
The vote this week by the city council undoes a 1988 measure that unified the two under one umbrella. Ceres originally decided to unify the departments in hopes that police officers and firefighters would receive some cross training, but that never came to pass.
The Modesto Bee reports the restructuring “comes three months after Director of Public Safety Art de Werk’s contentious departure from the city.
“De Werk was abruptly relieved of his duties in June shortly after returning from medical leave. He officially remains on the books until February, but his position was eliminated Monday as part of an accompanying resolution establishing police chief and captain positions.”
The city also eliminated the chief deputy position, which has been vacant since March.
There’s even a little cost savings for the city. The police chief position will top out at $11,085 a month, $561 less than the director of public safety position.