Carmel’s tab for the seven months its former police chief, Alan Ward, worked is a big one: It cost the city more than an estimated $364,200. That includes the cost of a nationwide search, Ward’s salary for the year he was on the city’s payroll – including five months on paid leave – the city’s pension obligation and an investigation with $87,616 price tag, into what it was that Ward did that got him suspended in December 2022 until he retired on June 16.
Whatever it was that he said or did before he was put on leave, city officials aren’t saying. City Attorney Brian Pierik denied the Weekly’s Public Records Act request to see a report by a law firm that conducted the investigation, despite the fact that the public, in this case Carmel residents, paid for it.
Pierik did not confirm or deny a report existed, only stating that “any investigation report would be exempt” from being made public under two California codes, one covering attorney-client privilege and another concerning the release of information about police officers. Under recent changes in California law, information about allegations against a police officer could be subject to disclosure if the investigation found that allegations against the officer were sustained.
When asked if any allegations against Ward had been sustained, Pierik would not answer, using the same penal code covering the release of information about police officers to
Ward was hired from the Merced Police Department after a nationwide search by the firm Bob Murray and Associates at a cost of $22,610. He was paid $221,618, and the city’s CalPERS retirement obligation was $32,387. The investigation was $87,616, conducted by The Oppenheimer Investigations Group.
Ward now works for the Naval Support Activity Monterey Police Department, according to a spokesperson for NSAM. He was sworn in as a lieutenant during a ceremony on July 7.
(1) comment
While the problem presented in this article is an obvious lack of transparency between government costs and the taxpayer, that is only the beginning. Private sector job salaries cannot keep pace with the high cost of public employee salary, health and pension costs. The disparity is too wide. Monterey County is the number one employer. Every single dollar spent comes from the taxpayer in some form or another. The public employee unions are no help! No one sits at the bargaining table, representing the taxpayer. This needs to change.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.