By Sara Beth Williams–
With the new school year set to begin in mid-August, the Citrus Heights Police Department said officers will continue monitoring local schools and enforcing traffic laws, including regulations governing e-bikes, despite the department’s recent restructuring and dissolution of its dedicated Traffic Unit.
The Citrus Heights City Council approved changes to the Police Department’s staffing structure earlier this month in order to address employee compensation costs as part of negotiations with two unions. As part of the restructuring, the department’s Traffic Unit was dissolved, and the four employees were reassigned to patrol, the city said.
The change raised questions about how the department will continue its school liaison program, which was approved by the City Council in 2024 to increase police presence and improve communication with local high schools.
Under the liaison program, traffic unit officers were assigned as liaisons to each local high school, providing a designated point of contact between the schools and the Police Department.
According to the city, that portion of the program will change following the dissolution of the Traffic Unit.
“The safety of students and schools remains a top priority,” the city said in an email statement Wednesday. “With the dissolution of the Traffic Unit, CHPD will no longer assign a specific officer liaison to each school. Patrol officers will continue to monitor school areas and respond to safety concerns as needed,” officials said.
While individual school liaisons will no longer be assigned, the department will maintain its connection with the San Juan Unified School District through Investigative Services Lieutenant Shaun Gualco.
“Gualco will remain CHPD’s liaison to San Juan Unified School District’s Safe Schools team, which provides school security support and coordinates with CHPD when law enforcement assistance is needed,” the city said.
With students preparing to return to school, questions were also raised regarding whether officers will continue monitoring school zones for traffic safety purposes, and for the lawful use of e-bikes and e-scooters, which have become increasingly utilized among students traveling to and from school.
The department said the dissolution of the Traffic Unit will not eliminate traffic safety enforcement around schools, including e-bike enforcement.
“Our patrol officers will continue to monitor schools for all traffic safety issues, including E-Bike enforcement,” police officials said.
The department’s restructuring was approved by the City Council July 8 as part of a broader effort to address increased employee compensation costs. The changes included new labor agreements and adjustments to employee compensation, while eliminating the dedicated Traffic Unit and moving its four officers into patrol assignments.
The restructuring means traffic enforcement responsibilities that were previously handled by the specialized unit will now be incorporated into the department’s broader patrol operations.
Looking ahead, the department also said in a statement via email that an on-call traffic investigator will still be available for the Operations Division to utilize when needed. Additionally, the Police Department plans to establish a Major Accident Investigations Team, which will be modeled after the current SWAT team. The accident investigations team will be equipped to respond to and investigate both fatal and other major collisions or scenes, the department said.
According to the agenda report from July 8, the restructuring of the Police Department is expected to save $975,000 during the 2026-27 fiscal year and roughly $1.24 million the following year. Savings largely offset the estimated $1.11 million cost of the labor agreement compensation packages.
The City Council voted unanimously to ratify Memorandum of Understandings agreed upon between the city and represented employees and amended salaries and health insurance compensation increases for unrepresented employees. The Citrus Heights Police Officers Association compensation contract expires June 30, 2028, while the Citrus Heights Police Employees Association contract and the unrepresented employees’ compensation plan will last through June 2030.
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