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Chief makes pitch for academy
By BRADY DENNIS © St. Petersburg Times, published October 11, 2000 ZEPHYRHILLS -- As many of his officers become eligible for retirement and others head south seeking higher pay, Police Chief Robert Howell needs more manpower. And he would rather not go outside Zephyrhills to find it. Howell proposed a plan at Monday's City Council meeting to allow city employees interested in becoming police officers the chance to attend a 17-week police academy while still receiving a paycheck. "We really have some qualified people in the community who'd love to be police officers but just can't afford to take 17 weeks off and pay for the police academy," Howell said. "History has shown us that if you can get local people who have family ties here and who want to work for the police department, then they'll stay with us for a long time." Howell said half a dozen city employees already have approached him about becoming police officers but have neither the time nor money for training. Council members praised Howell's proposal, though some worried where the money would come from and whether the program would leave other departments shorthanded. City Manager Steve Spina didn't foresee either concern posing a major problem. Pasco-Hernando Community College offers three training sessions a year, and it's likely that only one city employee would be allowed to attend each, Spina said. Spina added that when an employee left for training, the city would fill the position to ensure that no department was left shorthanded. And what about the money? "Right now, we don't have anything in place to do it," said Spina, adding that he would like to use the program to help recruit minorities. "But we have a contingency fund. The money is there to do it. And it's not like we're talking about all that much." What's more, Spina said the city might open the program to any interested residents, not just city employees. Either way, Howell will be on the hiring trail soon. He said the combination of high turnover, retirements and fewer young people pursuing police careers has made finding quality candidates a tough challenge. Five officers have retired in the past five years. Six more are eligible for retirement in the next three years. That's a considerable loss for a department with only 24 sworn officers currently on duty. What's more, Howell said roughly one in five officers leaves the department within the first three years, often heading to Hillsborough or Pinellas counties for higher pay. The starting pay for an officer in Zephyrhills is $25,700, and that's after a 10 percent pay raise in 1998. Pasco County deputies start at roughly $29,000, Howell said. Hillsborough and Pinellas begin well above $30,000. "We just can't compete with Tampa and Lakeland and such," Howell said. Howell said he hopes to return to the council's Oct. 23 meeting with more details and projected costs about the program. And if the council approves, he could soon be searching for new officers in his own back yard. "This is not a quick fix, we understand that," Howell said. "It will cost the city a little money in the beginning. But my idea was that if a person is already working for the city, they probably live here and want to stay here."
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