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Belleair to retain its police officers

The Town Commission rejects a proposal to have the Sheriff's Office handle law enforcement, much to the dismay of the mayor.

By JACOB H. FRIES
Published October 5, 2006

BELLEAIR - The vote was quick and, for a few moments, unanimous as the Town Commission decided Tuesday evening to retain its Police Department, rejecting a proposal to contract those services with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Then Mayor George Mariani Jr. arrived.

He had been stuck in traffic in Tampa and called ahead to say he might be late. He says he arrived about five minutes after the meeting was scheduled to begin, but it was already decided.

The commissioners had voted without public discussion.

"I was shocked and disappointed," Mariani said Wednesday. "Last night, I know there were a number of folks for and against (the proposal), but be that as it may, they quickly engineered the vote."

Mariani said he had hoped the town would contract with the Sheriff's Office, believing residents would get better police work for less money.

"But now we're going to back to the old standard, to a small-town police department, to small-town service, at about 60 percent more cost," Mariani said.

It is precisely that small-town feel that residents want in Belleair, Town Commissioner Gary Katica said.

"Belleair is a residential community, and it requires that home touch," Katica said. "The Police Department is part of the history of Belleair. ... It has added to the value of Belleair."

Katica said that ultimately his position was guided by the results of a recent survey showing 56 percent of respondents preferred to retain the department.

In all, 3,236 survey cards had been mailed to residents. Of those, about half - 1,614 - were returned, with 903 votes to keep the department.

With the issue settled for the time being, the town will begin the search for a new police chief. The last one, Chief Erv Hill, resigned in March 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.

Largo police stepped in first, managing the department through July. Then the Sheriff's Office took over.

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

Coats came to Tuesday's meeting, but was not invited to speak before the commission voted.

"Quite frankly, I feel disappointed for the citizens," Coats said. "In light of all this discussion about reducing taxes and rising insurance costs, it seems to me that they missed an opportunity to give a break to the residents or to use the funds to benefit other projects in the town."

Mariani said he expects the Police Department to become an issue again in the future.

"In a year or two or four, it will come up again," he said. "We're going to have another series of internal affairs investigations and then the issue of management and the issue of disciplinary problems. ... Throwing cash at the problem is not the answer."

Katica said the committee to hire a new chief will focus its search on local candidates because they have a better understanding of Florida and the expectations of the community.

[Last modified October 4, 2006, 22:49:03]