City tile is presented to Susan Dueñas for seven years of service with the City of Malibu
In Malibu — a city that is no stranger to fires, floods, earthquakes and landslides — city employee Susan Dueñas has turned the safety of residents into a complete city department that’s become so important to the well-being of the community.
Dueñas, Malibu’s first-ever public safety director, was honored at the City Council meeting Monday evening for her years of service to Malibu and for making a real impact in disaster preparation. The seven-year city employee was honored with a Malibu city tile for her significant contributions to public safety.
“Susan has done so much. Her job as public safety director is one of the most important things we’ve got going on here in the city,” Mayor Steve Uhring commented. “She has done an excellent job of building a staff to make it work, trying to harden Malibu from fires. She hired all the fire liaisons we’ve got to do the checks of houses. She’s the one who helped put together our contract with the California Highway Patrol. She’s done everything we’ve asked her to do and more.”
Dueñas had years of public service and emergency management under her belt before arriving in Malibu in 2017. She began her public safety career in West Hollywood and continued her services in El Segundo and Oxnard. She played an important role for 14 years at the Ventura County Office of Emergency Management overseeing homeland security grants and programs.
Dueñas arrived in Malibu when she was hired as public safety manager.
“It was a new role,” she said. “At the time they weren’t really sure what they needed.”
As the city’s safety needs grew, especially after the Woolsey Fire, Dueñas hired more staff to develop the department, implement more safety programs, and Public Safety became an official department of the city. She was promoted to director in 2022.
Public safety in Malibu has many challenges, nature being one, but also according to Dueñas, “It’s challenging being a full contract city. Having little direct control over a lot … PCH, the mountains, all these things that impact us, the city staff, and community. We don’t have direct control. It comes down to forging relationships. I can’t overstate how important that is. These are big agencies we’re dealing with whether it’s Caltrans, the State of California, County of Los Angeles, the Fire Department.”
Dueñas gave the example of staffing shortages at partnering agencies. “You know what needs to be done, but you can’t always directly control it,” she said.
Public safety in Malibu does not happen without its many volunteers, whom Dueñas praised.
“That’s one of the best parts of this job is that we have incredible volunteers,” she said. “Between the Volunteers on Patrol, the CERT team, Arson Watch, and community brigades coming. This community is incredibly lucky to have amazing volunteers who do so much. I’m impressed by our volunteers every day. Our CERT team leader has single-handedly quadrupled our communications capabilities by getting a repeater up in the mountains.
“One VOP wrote over 400 parking tickets last Sunday by himself!” Dueñas pointed out, noting those tickets amount to $30,000 in fines. “In a way these volunteers are an extension of our department.”
Dueñas is in daily communication with city volunteers.
“Even though we’re a small department, I actually feel like we’re kind of big because we have all these extensions,” she said. “We work closely on things.”
Under Dueñas’ leadership, the homeless count in Malibu has dropped by half from roughly 180 to 60.
“Until the larger problem of homelessness is addressed at a national and state level,” she said. “It’s not going to go away, but at least I feel that we’ve been successful in managing it as best we can and preventing some of the public safety impacts, especially fires. We’ve developed a good system for reducing the chances of fires in the hillsides.”
Dueñas reflected on how far the deparment has come.
“I’m proud of growing the program. We finally have the resources to get things done,” she said. “It’s labor intensive, such as our three fire safety liaisons. It’s incredible what they’ve been able to do. We have a high-functioning department of paid staff and great relationships with volunteer organizations. We’ve been able to effect some change. There’s still lots of work to do, but it’s nice to see we’ve had an impact.
“I can’t say enough how lucky I am to have the support of the city to give us the resources to fund what we need to fund.”
Malibu City Manager Steve McClary said of Dueñas,“Susan plays a critical role in ensuring the city is as best prepared as possible for any disaster or emergency situation. In addition, Susan works tirelessly with the staff and community on many other critical issues, including homelessness and other matters involving public safety, such as parking enforcement. She is trusted by the community for her knowledge and expertise on matters involving public safety, disaster preparedness, and disaster response. The city’s Public Safety Department is a shining star thanks to Susan’s dedication and leadership.”