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Will changes bring order to a frayed police force?
By KATHY SAUNDERS ST. PETE BEACH -- Consultant Robert J. Babineau has been hired to oversee the turbulent Police Department, but the former New Hampshire police chief has a troubled history of his own. Babineau will take over Aug. 1, the day after Chief Ray Kaminskas works his last day in the city where he had hoped to stay until his retirement. Before the consultant arrives, the city manager is expecting a report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement about Capt. Joseph Cornish, the department's second in command, who is accused of mishandling e-mails. Longstanding problems between Cornish and former Capt. Todd Kirchgraber so far have cost St. Pete Beach a city manager, a police chief and a captain. City Manager Carl Schwing resigned last year amid efforts to discipline the chief and two officers. Kirchgraber, accused of creating a hostile work environment, left in May with a six-month severance package. Kirchgraber declined through a friend to be interviewed last week. The feuding also has been partly responsible for a recent turnover in officers. Four have submitted resignations since Kirchgraber left. Although two officers are in line to be hired, sworn officers will be down from 30 to 24 when the chief leaves. Union representatives within the department say most of the officers are in Cornish's camp and looking forward to the changes that Babineau could bring about. The Fraternal Order of Police represents all of the sworn officers, besides the chief and captain. City Manager Mike Bonfield, who was hired in January, said he asked Babineau, 51, to direct day-to-day operations until the end of the year. Babineau, who will be commuting from his home in Punta Gorda, will work Tuesday through Saturday and stay in the city up to two nights a week. Bonfield wants Babineau to evaluate the department and help the city find a new chief. "Interviews with the department personnel will be conducted to determine the extent of any personnel or morale issues that need to be addressed immediately," Babineau said in a letter to the city manager. "Efforts will be undertaken to reduce the existing divisiveness and instill a teamwork attitude among the employees." Morale problems are familiar to Babineau. He retired in July 1998 after seven years as chief of the Laconia (N.H.) Police Department. He began as a beat cop in that department in 1978. When he left, the members of the police union in Laconia, a small town in mid New Hampshire, criticized his management style, saying he gave some officers special treatment. At one point, the department was down 14 of its 33 sworn officers. Babineau was chief when the department unionized. "If I had known then what I know now, I probably would have done a better job," Babineau said last week. "I've done extensive public safety consulting since I retired." In the past four years, Babineau said he has conducted numerous management studies of police departments and law enforcement agencies throughout the country. He also has assisted in recruiting and selecting new municipal police chiefs. According to his contract with the city, Babineau will be paid $50 an hour. Bonfield said Babineau will end up earning about the same as Kaminskas, who was paid $69,186 a year. The city agreed to pay Kaminskas for three months and provide health insurance for the same time period. Kaminskas said he was undergoing some tests last week that would determine whether he would continue in police work. The 52-year-old chief said he has some heart-related problems. But, until Bonfield asked him to leave, Kaminskas planned on staying at St. Pete Beach until he was 62. "I love this place," he said. He believes his departure is political fallout from a new administration in the city rather than a result of the problems between Cornish and Kirchgraber. "He (Bonfield) has made his decision and I am not part of that plan," Kaminskas said. "You serve at the pleasure." Kaminskas, previously police chief in Crystal River, said he is proud of several accomplishments during his three-year tenure here. He pointed to the purchase of new equipment for the safety of the officers and improved hiring procedures. "The people we are hiring now are of a very high quality," he said. Kaminskas, the first chief hired from outside the department in 10 years, said he was not given the authority to fire the rival captains. "Some situations you are given the power to fix and some situations you are not," he said. "All hiring and all firing is only by the city manager." Police officers say they wish Kaminskas had done more. "The whole problem in this department is due to the inability of the chief to direct the department," said Sgt. Phil Riles, one of two department representatives for Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 43. "Any time you have a problem that's not handled, it snowballs," said Officer Chris Centofanti, the other union representative. The problems arose from the management styles of the two senior officers. Cornish is described by many as low-key and friendly. He is the type of manager who works long hours, empties the trash cans himself and writes positive slogans at the top of his weekly reports, they say. On one he wrote, "The best way to predict the future is to create it." Kirchgraber was a firm commander and computer expert who was demanding of the officers. His supporters say he had the best interest of the department at heart. "Every decision he made was motivated out of concern for the integrity and professionalism of the department," said the chief's secretary, Gail Walker. The FDLE's report on Cornish is expected by July 24 when Bonfield returns from vacation. Kaminskas said he turned over Cornish's computer to the agency investigators. Bonfield would not comment on the investigation. Of the captains and Kaminskas, he said, "I didn't give up on anybody. We tried to make things work." Bonfield said he knows the officers have not enjoyed the working environment at the Police Department. He said he is confident that Babineau can help straighten things out. When he announced the department changes last week, Bonfield said, "I got a sense of relief" from the patrol officers. "They feel like they could see things happening."
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