City Council and GPD Divided Over Removal of Firearms

The issue of decommissioning the surplus firearms became heated during the city council’s Nov. 21 meeting, after officers asked the council to allow active and retired police officers to purchase the old guns and pistols. 

The surplus firearms, some of which were purchased 30 years ago, are no longer reliable because of their prolonged use, but are in “fair” condition, according to a report by Police Range Master Robert Locke-Paddon.

Purchasing guidelines require that any items considered “specialty items,” like firearms, be disposed of in a manner agreed on by the chief of police and department range master, with the range master determining the fair market value, the report states.

“It has been the past practice of the City of Gilroy and the Gilroy Police Department to sell specific surplus city-owned firearms for fair market value to active duty Gilroy police officers with a written agreement that the receiving officers will retain firearms purchased for a period of not less than five years,” the report states.

However, Gilroy city council members, specifically Bob Dillon and Perry Woodward, said they disagreed with the range master’s determined price, arguing that it's under fair market value.

“I don’t think the price of $200 for firearms is fair market value, I think we ought to consider an alternative,” Dillon said.

An alternative option Dillon announced was selling the guns at auction value. However, Denise Turner, Gilroy Police Department chief of police, said she prefers to destroy the guns than auction them off, especially because the guns are imprinted with the name of Gilroy police officers.

If the guns were destroyed, it would cost the city $1,000 in personnel, time, transportation and destruction, compared to an anticipated $5,000 gain in city revenue if the firearms were sold to police officers, Locke-Paddon’s report states.

Another issue with only allowing GPD officers to purchase the firearms is that they were purchased with city funds, and therefore belong to the taxpayers.

When the council opened the discussion to the public, Gilroy resident Sirus Cleaver approached the lectern to offer his two cents. Clever said he supports the idea of decommissioning the guns through a public auction.

“I agree with council member Woodward that these are public items purchased by taxpayers, so to not get full market value would be doing a disservice to Gilroy,” he said, while adding that he doesn't want the guns sold to retired officers. “I disagree with having guns back on the streets. Saying that officers can have guns, but not citizens is insulting. If that’s the case anyone who buys a gun has to go through a background check to make sure the citizen is an upstanding one. I don’t want anyone to think the guns are being given out like candy.”

Mayor Pro Tempore Cat Tucker said she’s not in favor of any of the options, especially selling the firearms back to the city, and asked to have the issue sent back to the GPD.

“We send a message out to the community, and we have projects set up to confiscate firearms, to have young people drop off guns without getting in trouble, and now to bring this back to the public and put more guns on the street—I don’t know how I feel.”

The council ultimately voted 6-1 in favor of postponing the issue to a later date, in hope that researching other options could help them find a reasonable solution that’s agreeable to everyone.

For more detailed information about the decommission of GPD firearms, refer to pages 62–64 of the attached agenda packet.

Other Meeting Highlights Include:

• Gilroy resident Tomas Muniz was crowned as the new member of the Development Standards Task Force, after his competition withdrew their application. Muniz is a long-time resident, with a background in the facilities/building industry, technical education and construction, according to the city’s agenda packet.

• Dana Louie, Public Art Committee member, was awarded a certificate of appreciation from the council. Louie thanked the council for endorsing the arts, and thanked the Public Art Committee and the Arts and Culture Commission for their interest in advancing the art scene within the city. Louie will be going to China, but said he will return to Gilroy.

• Shirley Willard, Public Art Committee chairwoman, gave an update on a series of projects they're currently pursuing. Willard discussed eight upcoming projects, and said the committee is working on future fundraising projects. “We’re planting the seeds for public art now, we just need the funding,” she said.

Christina Turner, city finance director, presented the city’s first quarter budget review for fiscal year 2011-12. Some of the highlights from the presentation include:

• The city was able to remove its structural deficit.

• Fiscal year 2010-11 ended with a surplus because of the city’s cautious budget, and revenue sources that were greater than projected, as well as from one-time expenditure savings. These savings have been accumulated into annual savings for 2012.

• The review determines a strong retail base for 2012 because the city has been successfully positioned as a shopping destination.

• Largest declines were in auto sales and miscellaneous items.