Judge reverses ruling in Northern CA city’s lawsuit over law enforcement services
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- A judge reversed a ruling that ordered the Sheriff’s Office to resume services in Willows.
- The Glenn County sheriff’s law enforcement contract with Willows expired June 30.
- Willows has begun to lay down the groundwork to restore a city-run police force.
A judge on Thursday reversed a ruling from last week that ordered a Sheriff’s Office to continue providing law enforcement services to a Northern California city while the two sides argued in court over an expired contract.
For the past few months, the City of Willows has been engaged in a dispute with the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office over its contract for law enforcement services that ended June 30.
Willows, the county seat, filed a lawsuit against the county and the Sheriff’s Office. The city was 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.
Benjamin Hanna, a visiting superior court judge, issued a ruling last Thursday that granted 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 was set to remain in effect until a hearing on July 17, when attorneys from both sides would have a chance to argue over Willows’ lawsuit.
At a hearing this Thursday in Glenn Superior Court, attorneys representing the Sheriff’s Office challenged last week’s ruling. They argued that the ruling was issued without the county having a chance to be heard in court, and that the court doesn’t have the authority to make a ruling that orders the county to alter its budget.
The Sheriff’s Office announced that its attorneys prevailed in court Thursday afternoon, and the temporary restraining was now dissolved. Court records show the court has also vacated the July 17 hearing.
“I am grateful that the judge heard the actual facts of the case and the results speak for themselves,” Glenn County Sheriff Justin Gibbs said in a Facebook post.
Last month, the Sheriff’s Office said its $2.3 million contract with 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 per year 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 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 Michael Maloney’s consulting firm 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, from September 2009 through April 2012. He retired at the age of 50 after a 27-year career with the Police Department.
Maloney’s consulting firm will 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.
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 a city news release.
The Willows City Council declared a public safety emergency 48 hours before its law enforcement services contract with the Sheriff’s Office expired.
City officials said declaring a public safety emergency enables Willows to request additional help and resources from the state government “to help protect the community while determining a long-term solution.”
