Northern CA city hires ex-police chief as consultant amid legal battle with sheriff
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- Willows hired former Chico police chief Michael Maloney as a public safety consultant.
- A judge ordered the Glenn County sheriff to resume law enforcement services until July 17.
- Willows authorized a $60,000 contract for Maloney’s firm to plan for a city police force.
A small Northern California city hired a former police chief as a public safety consultant as it continues its legal battle with its county’s sheriff’s office over its expired law enforcement services contract.
A judge has ordered the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office to continue providing law enforcement services to the City of Willows, at least until a July 17 hearing when the city’s lawsuit can be argued over in court. But attorneys representing the county and its Sheriff’s Office are challenging that ruling and will argue their opposition in a hearing on Thursday in Glenn Superior Court.
In the meantime, the City of Willows has hired Michael Maloney and his firm Maloney Consulting and Investigation Solutions to help city officials with immediate public safety needs and lay down the administrative groundwork to re-establish the Willows Police Department.
Maloney was the chief of police in Chico, the Butte County college town about 30 miles northeast of Willows. He was the Chico police chief from September 2009 through April 2012, when he retired at the age of 50 after a 27-year career with the Police Department.
“This is a step in the right direction by getting our citizens the immediate public safety protection that they deserve while preparing to rebuild the city’s law enforcement to provide long-term safety to our community,” Willows Mayor Evan Hutson said in a news release.
Restoring Willows Police Department
Willows scrapped its city-run police department in 2017 and transitioned to contracted services from the Sheriff’s Office. Willows, which is about 85 miles north of Sacramento, had a population of about 6,300 as of the 2020 U.S. Census, just over one-fifth of Glenn County’s nearly 29,000 residents.
On Monday, the Willows City Council authorized a $60,000 contract with Maloney’s consulting firm to provide law enforcement administration and coordinate with neighboring jurisdictions and law enforcement agencies to secure overtime sworn police officers to supplement patrol services while Willows is without contracted law enforcement services.
City officials said they are taking additional steps to coordinate supplemental law enforcement resources and advance its long-term goal of restoring the Police Department.
Efforts to plan for a restored Willows police force will proceed along with the city’s evaluation of the cost to rebuild the department and its preparation of a proposed ballot measure to be considered by voters in 2027, according to the city’s news release.
Last month, the Sheriff’s Office said its $2.3 million contract with the City of Willows would be terminated because the cost of providing law enforcement services is currently $3.4 million a year. Sheriff’s officials said it results in a loss of nearly $1 million for Glenn County.
Willows officials said the annual contract costs were $1.5 million during a 2022 negotiation with the Sheriff’s Office, and the sheriff’s January 2026 proposal would increase the costs to about 120% over the past four years.
Willows filed a civil lawsuit on June 9 against the county and its Sheriff’s Office. The city is seeking a court injunction that would order the Sheriff’s Office to continue providing law enforcement services to its residents as they negotiate a new contract.
Glenn sheriff’s online portal
On June 25, Glenn County Sheriff Justin Gibbs said in a written statement that Glenn County and Willows residents “should rest assured that I, as the Glenn County Sheriff, along with my department, will comply with my constitutional and statutory obligations and duties and will perform these obligations and duties in accordance with all applicable laws.”
Sheriff’s officials said last month that they will create an online crime reporting system, which includes a module for Willows residents to file police reports.
Last week, the Sheriff’s Office announced an online reporting portal was available to Glenn County residents to make non-emergency reports, check local crime statistics, view the local crime map and request services like extra patrol and live trap rentals, along with reporting control burns, placing anonymous tips and get an accident report online.
Sheriff’s officials also said their development of a separate online portal for Willows residents was underway and will be released as soon as possible. The Sheriff’s Office has not made any further announcements about the Willows online portal.
The Sheriff’s Office contract expired at 11:59 p.m. June 30.
Court ruling on law enforcement
Benjamin Hanna, a visiting superior court judge, issued a ruling last Thursday that grants Willows’ request for a temporary restraining order against the county. The judge ordered the Sheriff’s Office to resume providing law enforcement services to Willows at the level that existed before the contract expired, according to the filed July 2 ruling.
Hanna’s temporary restraining order will remain in effect until July 17, when attorneys from both sides will have a chance to argue over Willows’ lawsuit.
A case management hearing is scheduled for this Thursday afternoon. The attorneys representing the county have filed a letter informing the court they will use Thursday’s hearing to ask the judge to withdraw his temporary restraining order.
Attorneys for the county argue that Hanna’s ruling last week was issued without the mandatory notice to the county and without an opportunity for the county to heard in court, according to the letter filed Wednesday in court. The attorneys also argued that the court doesn’t have the authority to make such a ruling.
“That is changing the status quo and ordering the county to alter its budgeting,” attorneys for the county said in the letter. “However, this court does not have the constitutional authority to order the county to rearrange its recent budgetary decisions and resume the level of funding that would be needed to satisfy the level of law enforcement activities that were required under the now-terminated agreement between the city and the county.”
