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Battle may be brewing over the county charter

Some city entities, like Tarpon Springs police, fear that charter changes may regulate them out of existence.n Tarpon police have long bristled at talk of a sheriff takeover. Now, they fear that a county charter proposal could regulate them out of existence.

By ROBIN STEIN
Published June 26, 2006

TARPON SPRINGS - City leaders here have long been agitated by the mere mention of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

But these days, any talk about the Sheriff's Office assuming the duties of the city's Police Department is treated as an act of heresy.

While the idea has been around for years, there is no imminent threat of a takeover, no clear evidence that such a plan is in the works and no proposal from the Sheriff's Office, which would come only by the city's invitation.

Nonetheless, city officials are preparing for a showdown.

"This might be our battle year," Mayor Beverley Billiris said during last week's City Commission meeting.

The mayor's comment comes in the midst of several recent events, most notably proposals to amend the county's charter, which city officials say amount to a dangerous usurpation of power.

"Everyone in the city is opposed to the county's attempt to take away the rights of people in the city," said police Chief Mark LeCouris. "We're ready to go to war."

The normally contentious City Commission is united in its opposition to the proposed changes to the charter, in particular a call to delete the dual referendum - a process that currently allows cities to opt out of new county regulations.

"County - get out of our city!" Billiris said. "We all view this as impeding on our home rule."

Eliminating the dual referendum, city leaders said, could lead to the dismantling of the city's police and fire departments, regardless of the will of city residents.

"The sheriff wants to take over the police departments for a lot of the municipalities, especially the smaller municipalities," Tarpon Springs city attorney John Hubbard said.

Tarpon Springs' police chief agrees. Sheriff Jim Coats, like his predecessor, is intent on replacing the city's force of 48 sworn officers with a "big conglomerate of law enforcement," LeCouris said.

"In my mind, the sheriff should come to the city and say, 'What can I do to help you do your policing?' not, 'I can come in here and do your policing for you,' " LeCouris said.

The sheriff, meanwhile, has been more reticent on the matter.

"We have not had any request from the mayor or the City Commission of Tarpon Springs to provide any kind of a proposal for services," sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Jim Bordner said. "But like any municipality in Pinellas County, if the request is made to the Sheriff's Office regarding costs or available services, we would gladly prepare a proposal for their consideration."

The charter currently requires a dual vote to approve a regulatory policy, such as one governing environmental standards. The policy must pass a countywide referendum to take effect, but if it is rejected by voters in a municipality, it doesn't apply there.

Pinellas is the state's only county with that requirement, which was adopted in 1999 but has never been used.

Those who advocate eliminating the dual referendum say it will help ensure regulatory consistency.

They deny they are trying to eradicate municipal public safety agencies.

But Hubbard said the change would undermine the cities' sovereignty, and effectively allow the county to regulate cities' police and fire departments out of existence.

For example, he said, the county could mandate special equipment or personnel that some cities could not afford.

"I'm not saying it would happen," Hubbard said. "I'm saying it could. The power to regulate is the power to destroy."

Leaders and residents in Tarpon Springs have banded together with opponents from five other cities to mobilize for a fight.

So far, they have failed to sway the Charter Review Commission.

Last Monday, the commission voted to get rid of the dual referendum. That proposal will be forwarded to the County Commission, which is obligated to place it on the November ballot as a referendum question.

But the defeat has seemed to intensify the battle cry in Tarpon Springs.

Anxiety about the sheriff taking over city policing has percolated for decades. In 1987, a grand jury recommended disbanding the department, finding it had been intractably compromised by political interference. Since then, Tarpon Springs police say, they have made big improvements.

And in recent years, state investigators have scrutinized the department twice but have not filed any charges.

The sheriff's expanding jurisdiction has also bred uneasiness.

After Dunedin's City Commission dissolved its police force in 1995, Tarpon Springs residents voted to add laws requiring a referendum before anything similar could happen in their city.

To LeCouris, that reaffirmed the community's overwhelming support.

"We've got a community policing and enforcement philosophy that speaks for itself," he said.

Today, Bordner said, the sheriff's 920 sworn officers patrol 10 cities, as well as St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport and unincorporated areas of the county.

The Sheriff's Office recently submitted a proposal to take over the Belleair Police Department. Belleair officers have said they would welcome the change.

Tarpon Springs officials' uneasiness grew last month when Pinellas County school officials said they were considering hiring sheriff's deputies instead of city police as school resource officers.

"We had high hopes we'd get a new sheriff who would conduct law enforcement responsibly," LeCouris said. "If they want to bring an attack on ... it's going to be a nasty fight."

[Last modified June 26, 2006, 00:27:12]