Three Morgan Hill residents were awarded the City’s Public Service Award for their public safety volunteer efforts at Saturday night’s second annual Cops and Robbers Ball.
Marc Darnell, Mike Klyszeiko and Steve Balbo were presented the award at the fundraiser for the nonprofit Community Law Enforcement Foundation, which uses the funds it raises to supplement Morgan Hill’s public safety spending efforts.
The three award recipients each spend more than 40 hours a month volunteering for the City’s Volunteers In Policing program, which was founded by the Morgan Hill Police Department in 2011 as a way to lessen the burden of the department’s sworn staff and resources which are increasingly spread thin, according to City staff.
VIP participants perform tasks such as traffic control for special events or significant emergency calls, deploy the City’s radar trailer, vehicle abatement assistance, perform “Live Scan” background checks and other “front desk” duties at the police station.
“We guide the program based on inputs from our advisors,” Darnell, 54, added, referring to himself, Klyszeiko and Balbo.
“It’s a great way to give back to the community,” added Klyszeiko, 73. “I think we help out the police department a lot by doing tasks they don’t assign an officer to.”
The Cops and Robbers Ball raised more than $40,000 for CLEF, according to CLEF past president Craig Van Keulen. About 200 attended the event. In the past, CLEF has used its proceeds to purchase equipment for the MHPD, and purchase the City’s former K-9 German Shepherd.
