Police Captain Mike Dean is City Employee of the Year

Scotts Valley Police Captain Mike Dean is the City of Scotts Valley Employee of the Year for 2020.

He was recognized at the Feb. 17 City Council meeting, a virtual meeting due to COVID-19 safety precautions.

The award honors extraordinary above-and-beyond service to the Scotts Valley community.

Dean stood out in a year that was first marked by a global pandemic that upended all normality, shuttering local schools and businesses, and then by lightning-triggered uncontrollable wildfires that forced thousands of residents (and businesses) to evacuate for over a week.

All this happened at a time when the Police Department had to provide public safety service despite the challenges of a staffing contraction, fierce storms and power outages.

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The City’s Resolution

Whereas, in such a year, the City employee who rose to meet these challenges—and then some—shatters the definition of extraordinary commitment and effort in service to the City and is deserving of rich commendation; and

Whereas, throughout 2020 and beyond, Police Captain Mike Dean has epitomized excellence and exceptional service, and in a year that tested the City to the limits, provided a steady hand, zealous protection of the community, phenomenal leadership, generous partnership with colleagues and the community, devotion of outstanding effort, and endless perseverance through the cascade of challenges; and

Whereas, no matter the scale or scope of the work, Police Captain Mike Dean repeatedly answered the call of service: he took on the role of Acting Sergeant and actively patrolled the streets of Scotts Valley to fill shifts; he assumed the workload of both Captain positions and the Detective Sergeant when attrition winnowed staffing; he imbedded himself in the CZU Basecamp to provide liaison and logistical support to provide protection to Scotts Valley through the wildfire event; he shouldered the hiring and recruiting for the Police Department, reviewing over 100 applications and interviewing 75 candidates through the course of the year, resulting in the placement of 10 new employees; he coordinated with the District Attorney’s Office to ensure criminal cases would continue to be investigated upon the City’s staffing shortfall; he addressed adequacy of equipment and vehicles to ensure our officers had replacement cars and safety gear for their protection; he was instrumental to install enhanced personal protective measures, policies and equipment to keep our officers safe throughout the pandemic; he took on building maintenance coordination for the Police Department and City Hall proper as a whole; he marshaled in the Next Generation 911 installation, which constituted the largest dispatch system upgrade in over a decade; and, in innumerable ways, he supported the success of the City organization in its most difficult year since its formation in 1966; and

Whereas, with the gratitude of the City of Scotts Valley, Police Captain Mike Dean is honored as the 2020 City of Scotts Valley Employee of the Year.