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Tiburon police seek to fill two vacancies amid high living costs, competition

The department offers $138,148 in top-step pay but competes with agencies in San Jose and San Francisco that pay significantly more — in some cases over $200,000.

Tyler Callister
By TYLER CALLISTER · 1 min read

Tiburon police officials say they’re struggling to fill two open officer positions following two recent departures, while a third officer remains on administrative leave.

That’s dropped the number of patrol officers from nine to six, with the department stretching its staff to fill shifts, Chief Michelle Jean said at the May 19 meeting of the Tiburon Citizens Advisory Panel, which advises the chief on public safety and community engagement.

She said hours have been reconfigured and officers are sometimes asked to work overtime, while Capt. Jarrod Yee and Detective Sgt. Rob Law are occasionally covering patrol shifts.

At the advisory panel meeting, officials spoke candidly about the department’s effort to fill the two vacancies.

“We are very, very heavily proactively seeking out candidates, and it’s tough,” Jean said.

She said Tiburon’s recruitment faces two main challenges: Marin County’s high cost of living and competition with other local agencies for the same pool of candidates.

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A version of this story appeared in the May 27, 2026, print edition of The Ark. See something wrong? Request a correction.
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