Zach Ardis, Longmont Public Safety Chief, believes it’s essential to connect with the community, networking with agencies and when it's necessary, challenging the status quo. Zack came to Longmont in August 2021 from Georgia with a 26 year history of public safety-police and fire. He holds a master's degree in Public Administration from Columbus State University. The Longmont Public Safety Department includes Police, Fire and Collaborative Services. The Collaborative Services Division includes three sections: Community Services-Case Management, Crisis Outreach Response and Engagement (CORE) and Internal/Facilities Services.
Zach holds to three essential elements-the PIE acronym, (and he likes the real one too). PIE stands for Professionalism, Integrity and Equality. Displaying professional conduct is essential to building trust within the community. Honesty is essential to demonstrating integrity and the Golden rule still rings true- "Treat others the way you want to be treated". For Zack the critically important issues of diversity, inclusion and equity are what will strengthen the mission to serve the people who live, work and play in Longmont.
Zack spoke about the needed diversity of the applicant pool in police and fire services. Longmont is 30-35% Hispanic and our workforce should work to reflect our community. Zack shared ideas that he is implementing to help support this goal.