RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - Sgt. Mel Outram, who has served with the Rancho Murieta Community Services District Security Department for two years, has announced his resignation effective Aug. 23. 

Prior to his time with the district, Outram accumulated 23 years of experience as a police officer and also worked as a security officer and supervisor at a special district for three years.

Outram said that after Security Supervisor Kelly Benitez resigned in February, he assumed nearly all of Benitez’s responsibilities, except for producing the security log and providing statistics to the board. This was in addition to his existing duties as a sergeant patrolling the community. Outram did receive an increase in pay.

Outram stated that he is resigning due to working conditions and because his request for a promotion to security supervisor, along with a salary increase reflecting his expanded responsibilities, was not addressed.

Outram’s departure leaves the department with only two patrol officers and no supervisor. In addition to his patrol duties, Outram also oversaw gate operations, despite one gate officer being an assistant supervisor. Although General Manager Mimi Morris had announced at the July board meeting that the district was close to hiring a fourth patrol officer, pending a background check, Outram noted that the new hire never reported to his new job.

Asked to comment about Outram’s resignation, Board President Tim Maybee said he was constrained because it was a personnel matter. 

“We’ve had very good employees who have left for various reasons,” Maybee said. “Mel was good with the community. I wish him all the luck in his endeavors.”

Maybee also pointed out that the situation reflected broader issues beyond one employee. 

“All of this was predictable. That’s why we asked for Measure R,” Maybee said.

Measure R, presented on the November 2022 ballot, sought approval from district patrons for an additional security tax to fully fund patrol operations, including a security supervisor, a sergeant and four officers. However, the measure did not achieve the required two-thirds majority vote to pass.

Commenting on this, Maybee said, “The community spoke with Measure R and we have to go the course of Measure J.”  

Outram said he was never informed that the security supervisor position had been eliminated. Had he known, Outram said, he would have resigned at the same time as Benitez. The board and staff made the decision to eliminate the top security position during the public 2024/25 budget process, with the cost savings and a recalculation of the overhead costs allowing for the hiring of a fourth patrol officer.

Outram said that he made every effort to use his experience to improve the community and address issues proactively. He recounted coming in on his day off to meet with the parents of juveniles suspected of recent car vandalisms and burglaries, even though the incidents couldn’t be definitively proven. His goal was to manage situations before they escalated, reflecting his commitment to maintaining order and safety in the community.

Outram said he didn’t want it to come to the point of resignation. 

“I made sure I got you guys through the summer, the busiest time of year before I evaluated everything and made my decision,” he said. “I just want the community to know I didn’t mean to abandon them. I tried to make it work. I have a vested interest here.”

Outram said he bypassed the chain of command to speak directly with Maybee because he knew that Morris and Mark Matulich, the finance and administration director, wouldn’t have the answer. Nor were they around the office that much, he said.  

“I didn’t want this to drag on,” Outram said.

Outram said he met with Maybee on July 31 and “I pretty much said, ‘Hey, for me to continue working here, I need to be promoted to chief and I need the chief’s salary because my workload has increased so much.’”

Outram said he proposed combining the sergeant and supervisor roles with the condition that he be promoted and receive the chief’s salary of $110,000. Since he was already earning $80,000, this would have required the district to pay an additional $30,000. After discussing this with Maybee again on Aug. 9 and not receiving a definitive response, Outram said, he decided to resign.

Talking to the River Valley Times, Outram said that he “couldn’t afford to wait a couple of months for the district to figure things out.” 

“I’m not putting the blame on anybody. It was my decision. Nobody asked me to leave,” Outram told the River Valley Times. “I just re-evaluated my situation and I said, ‘Unfortunately this is looking like it isn’t going to work out.’”

Outram said he planned to attend the Aug. 21 board meeting to present a letter about his decision. Asked if he would have stayed if the district had elevated him to interim security chief and increased his salary by $30,000, Outram said yes.

Although Outram is resigning to retire, he said, he “will consider looking for another interesting job in a couple of years” after he gets bored. Outram said that is what happened after he retired from a 23-year career with the Alameda Police Department. 

He found another job as a security officer at the Shasta Dam special district and was promoted to the lieutenant in charge within a year, Outram said.

The Security Department is funded by taxes from Measure J, which residents approved in 1998. A shortfall in funding surfaced about 12 years ago. Although the taxes were enough to maintain the gates, there wasn’t sufficient funding to provide the patrol coverage as laid out in Measure J. Beginning in 2016, past boards began using general property taxes to shore up the security budget rather than using that money to build up the district’s severely underfunded reserves.

The current board, with the exception of Director Stephen Booth (who was not yet appointed to replace John Merchant), began exploring options to address the underfunded security budget and the need to increase property taxes for reserves. They conducted two opinion surveys to gather community input on potential solutions. The culmination of these efforts led to the proposal of Measure R, which sought to secure additional funding for the security budget but ultimately did not pass.

Measure R, proposed at an additional cost of $26 per month or $316 per year, would have funded 21 patrol shifts per week, staffed by one supervisor, one patrol sergeant and four patrol officers. It also included a provision for annual tax adjustments based on the consumer price index (CPI), with a cap of 5%. This was designed to address the inadequacies of Measure J, which had only a 2% adjustment, insufficient to keep up with rising operational costs over time.

Measure R went down with 54% voting no and 45% yes. A two-thirds vote would have been required for passage. H