Florentino “Tino” Perez was hired during Tuesday night’s Special City Council Meeting as the next Jefferson Chief of Police.
“I am truly honored to be taking on my new role as the head of the administration,” Perez said in a Press Release. “I believe that the current concept of policing is being challenged in our nation. I understand that the police serve the people by protecting individual rights and maintaining the peace. Law and order will be maintained under my administration peacefully. I plan to meet with citizens, community groups, businesses and religious organizations to accomplish this task.
“As the Chief of Police, I will always have an open-door policy regarding praises or concerns from the community.,” Perez continued. “I look forward to working with and for the Citizens of Jefferson, Texas.”
Perez, a native of Marshall, is a Marshall HS graduate, and has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from East Texas Baptist University. He has been a reserve police officer, patrol officer, Investigator and Sergeant while working for the Jefferson Police Department. He has been with the Jefferson Police Department for five years and was previously the Linden-Kildare Consolidated School District’s Police Chief.
The remainder of the meeting was mostly procedural cleanup for CARES Act grant funding, adopting a Financial and Procurement Guidelines to align with CRF 200 Federal Regulations, and the denial of a request to build an RV park at the corner of Friou and Harrison streets. The City also went into Executive Session to consult with their attorney, Mike Martin of Gilmer, on pending litigation.
The City has previously approved to use $82,000 of the $112,000 CARES ACT funding to purchase upgrades to the City Police Department vehicle computer systems.
After the meeting Council held a budget workshop to plan for the 2020-2021 Fiscal Year.