Hold On Chief

Grover Beach Police Chief Jim Copsey is set to retire on Dec. 28, but he isn’t going anywhere just yet. Last week, the City Council voted in favor of keeping Copsey on board as interim chief until a replacement is found.
“The alternative to retaining Chief Copsey would be to go out and retain an interim chief, but that would be very expensive,” City Manager Bob Perrault told the council.
Because a police chief is a public safety position, the California Public Employees Retirement System (CALPERS) allows the City to waive a 180-day wait period normally required before an employee is eligible for rehire on a limited basis.
Copsey could be rehired for a limited one-time-only basis as per a resolution previously adopted by the council. That boils down to no more than 960 hours, which is equivalent to the 180-day wait period.
“The advantage to the City is that obviously he can be very useful in the recruitment process itself,” Perrault said, adding that retaining Copsey is cost effective. The salary and benefit savings that the City will incur as a result of Copsey’s retirement means an additional $26,000 dip into the general fund.
“I can tell you if you were going to go out and get an interim for a six-month period of time, it would cost you a good deal more than $26,000,” Perrault said.
Copsey has 27 years in law enforcement, the last 10 of which have been as chief of the Grover Beach Police Department. In November of 2013, he took on the role of assistant city manager following a stint filling in for Perrault, who took a leave of absence due to illness. In a previous interview with the Coast News, Copsey says he will miss the daily interaction with the community.
“I think what has been the most rewarding is the team we have built in both the police department and City Hall—the people that we have hired, worked with and trained,” he said. “I am pretty proud of the people that work here. The City is pretty lucky. We have good people and I am glad I was a part of that process.”
Prior to being hired by the City of Grover Beach, Copsey served as police chief for two-and-a-half years in King City. He also saw extended service with the City of Monterey where he began his law enforcement career.
Grover Beach has a population of slightly more than 13,000 served by a police department with 17 full-time sworn personnel and eight non-sworn personnel with an operating budget of $3.5 million.