Published on September 08, 2022
The City of Maricopa is unifying its public safety functions to reduce administrative and analytical redundancies, expedite efficiencies, and create data-driven strategies as we work to become one of Arizona’s premier cities. The Police Department, Fire Department and Office of Emergency Management make up the City’s Public Safety function.The goal is to align public safety with the City mission to unlock its full potential to create a thriving and durable community, as well as enabling public safety to achieve the strategic objective of ensuring a safe and secure community. Administrative functions, currently duplicated across police, fire, and emergency management, will be consolidated in order to achieve greater efficiencies.These administrative functions include, but are not limited to administration, logistics, officer/fire-fighter well-being, and management analysis. Subsets of current police and fire duties that do not require sworn police or firefighter response will be delegated accordingly to allow our public safety professionals to focus on their primary function. To lead this effort, City Manager Rick Horst is pleased to announce the appointment of Micah Gaudet as the Deputy City Manager/Chief Public Safety Officer. Mr. Gaudet is a decorated combat zone veteran, having served in the US Army 101st Airborne Division. Mr. Gaudet began his post-military career as an intelligence analyst for emergency management and homeland security with the Ohio Department of Public Safety, where he was the lead domestic terrorism analyst and led state emergency management support for high-profile events like the Republican National Convention, the NBA Finals, and MLB World Series. Prior to joining the City of Maricopa, Mr. Gaudet served as the Miami, Arizona Town Manager. While earning distinction as the youngest city manager in the State, Mr. Gaudet led the Town through the Telegraph Fire and historical post-fire flooding. Mr. Gaudet holds a B.S. in economics from Middle Tennessee State University and a M.A. in public administration from The Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Gaudet, working in tandem with our Chief of Police, Fire Chief and Director of the Office of Emergency Management, will form the Public Safety Command Staff charged with ensuring the health and safety of our residents and visitors.