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County will run Belleair police station

Leaders will consider placing a referendum before voters to make a permanent decision on the issue.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published July 27, 2006

BELLEAIR - The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office plans to temporarily run the town's Police Department starting next week.

The Sheriff's Office will take the reins from Largo police, who have been managing the Belleair department since March.

Largo had taken over operations following the resignation of Belleair police Chief Erv Hill and the subsequent departures of two other top officials there.

"I see it as a seamless transition from Largo to us," said county Sheriff Jim Coats, who wants to run Belleair's department permanently.

Lt. Sean Jowell will become interim chief on Tuesday. The Sheriff's Office doesn't plan to charge for interim services, said sheriff's Sgt. Jim Bordner.

Largo police have been running the department for free since March, but started charging Belleair $14,500 a month at the beginning of July.

The agreement with Largo began after Hill's resignation amid accusations he secretly taped one of his officers. Around that time, second-in-command Lt. David Keefe, and administrative supervisor JoAnne Fishback were also asked to leave.

In recent weeks, instability in the department may have led to other departures. Two officers have given notice and intend to leave in August, Town Manager Steve Cottrell said.

Largo police Chief Lester Aradi said he asked Coats to step in because a short-term venture of running the Belleair department was starting to look like a long-term one.

The change of guard comes as the town considers a referendum on whether to contract with the Sheriff's Office for police services on a permanent basis.

On Tuesday, the Town Commission is expected to officially decide whether a referendum will be placed on the ballot, Town Clerk Donna Carlen said.

Depending on the outcome of a referendum, the town could be without a permanent chief until next year, Aradi said.

"Meanwhile, you have employees leaving the department because of uncertainty of whether they're going to have a job down the road," he said.

Belleair employs 11 full-time and two part-time officers.

Resident Stephanie Oddo said she'd prefer a decision to be made before November.

"You can't wait until November to tell your police officers whether they're going to have jobs," Oddo said.

Commissioner Tom Shelly said Town Attorney David Ottinger recommended other options to expedite the process, such as a survey or a poll.

"I want to make sure we respond quickly and at the same time I want to give everybody proper notice so they have the opportunity to participate," Shelly said.

In his pitch to run Belleair's department permanently, Coats said providing two deputies per shift will cost the city about $763,400 annually. The town had budgeted about $1.26-million for law enforcement next year, he said.

The Sheriff's Office recently began providing dispatch and records management services for Belleair's department, which also has a pending contract with the Sheriff's Office for storage of property and evidence.

[Last modified July 26, 2006, 22:04:01]