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Supporters of the Port Richey Police Department sure are picking an odd strategy to make their point. Maintain the status quo or disband the city, they thunder.
Their over-the-top reaction to a consultant's report, and subsequent 3-2 council vote to investigate implementing its recommendations, is typical all-or-nothing Port Richey politicking.
The consultant's recommendations are not irrational, nor excessive. Matrix Consulting Group suggested the city eliminate a detective and two patrol officers, add a corporal and a part-time clerk and cut its five dispatchers in favor of contracting with another agency. It is a projected $156,000 savings or 14 percent of the Police Department's $1.1-million budget.
The efficiency study came in the wake of a more emotionally charged, and highly suspicious push, to eliminate the Police Department last year. Public opposition doomed the effort.
Police supporters now contend that local control over dispatching is irrevocable because it would lead to longer response times. They offer no data to substantiate the claim.
The future of the Police Department should be debated publicly. Its benefits vs. cost savings will be a significant equation in the city's coming budget deliberations. But to frame the debate as the precursor to dismantling the city if the outcome isn't satisfactory to a specific segment is illogical, particularly since one of the report's significant attributes is its impartiality.
Besides, if people want to disband their city, they don't have to wait for a budgetary vote on the police force. The city charter allows citizens to petition for a voter referendum with signatures from 10 percent of the city's registered voters, or 194 verified signatures.
It's certainly not a new idea. Three-quarters of the voters who came to the polls in April 1997 rejected the notion of merging with New Port Richey. But recent shenanigans certainly give ammunition to people who believe Port Richey is incapable of self-governing.
The most recent activities at City Hall include the building official's believing his employees are being stalked by a gadfly and asking for a State Attorney's Office investigation. Loyalty to his charges is admirable even if Building Official Bill Sanders already announced his intentions of seeking employment elsewhere.
Meanwhile, City Manager Vince Lupo downplayed the significance of a local business being accused of taking water illegally from the city. Lupo stated a police report contained overblown allegations. Considering the business, Paradise of Port Richey, contributes financially to city causes, Lupo should ensure there is no favoritism.
The city continues to be unable to enforce its no-parking regulations; its civilian code enforcement board flip-flopped at the behest of Sanders in a case against another gadfly, and City Attorney Paul Marino flashed his own pettiness in siccing code enforcement after council member Bill Bennett, who sought to fire the attorney.
Disband the city? The list of justifications is lengthy. But attempting to improve Police Department efficiency shouldn't be one of them.