Another full chamber of concerned citizens and Brooksville Police Officers convened at the Brooksville City Council’s workshop meeting on Feb. 26, 2018.
At the beginning of the meeting Council Member Natalie Kahler objected to the presentation on the agenda to be given by Duane Chichester, on the basis that Chichester is not a city resident, and not an expert in law enforcement or finance. After some discussion, the majority of council members agreed to allow the presentation.
Citizen’s Comments began the four-hour meeting. The first Brooksville resident to address the board was Craig Garrett, who stated he was retired from 25 years in Public Safety. Unhappy with the proposal, Garrett led with, “Leave the police department alone. Without public safety, we don’t need a city, and we don’t need (city council).” Garrett stated, “You’re going to get a proposal from a sheriff that [sic] is a liar, a cheat and a thief, hides numbers … he’s going to do exactly the opposite of what he’s going to tell you tonight.” Regarding the council specifically, he said, “This is the worst city council that I’ve ever seen … you guys have a vindictive agenda.”
Council Member Joe Bernardini responded immediately to Garrett’s comments, calling the statements “very poor.” Bernardini said of the city council, “We’re a business that is losing money, and all we’re doing is looking at ways to maybe save the city.”
Sheriff Al Nienhuis was not at the meeting.
Several other residents spoke to the board, some in favor of the county providing the public safety services for the city or dissolving Brooksville’s charter, or both. Don Gilbert of Southern Hills Plantation called the situation of 45% of city residents paying no ad-valorem taxes, “the perfect storm.” Reiterating the business of running the city, he said, “Take the emotion out of this.” Roughly one-third to one-half in attendance were residents of Southern Hills.
Duane Chichester, a county resident gave a presentation showing relevant statistics and financial figures for “a city that cannot afford itself.” Chichester cited no growth (a net increase of 482 people since 2010), low household income ($38,636 for Brooksville and $59,039 nationwide) and a low ad-valorem tax base. In addition to turning police and fire over to Hernando County, another option is to raise taxes significantly. “No one’s going to give you money, other than the taxpayers.”
The city is reviewing three levels of service from the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO). The base level comes at an estimated cost of $967,624, which includes eight patrol deputies, 24 hours per day. Two deputies are expected per shift, based on call volume, with no stated minimum. The middle tier, or enhanced level includes twelve deputies, with a stated minimum of two deputies per shift, at the cost to the city of $1,451,295. The intensive level, with a price tag of $1,814,295 includes twelve deputies, one sergeant, one dedicated traffic unit, and 1 Community Oriented Policing Problem Solving (COPPS) deputy.
Lieutenant Mike Burzumato of HCSO answered specific questions from the board regarding staffing ratios of the different service levels, terminology and policies specific to law enforcement in general, as well as HCSO, which were detailed in the 200-page packet of information given before the meeting.
Regarding the current members of the Brooksville Police Department (BPD), Council Member Joe Bernardini read from a letter from Colonel Mike Maurer, “We suspect that re-employment of current police officers is of great concern to you. I can assure you that they will have priority hiring preference and expedited process.” Bernardini stated he wanted to make sure (the council) is looking out for the current officers. Burzumato stated that this was the intention of the Sheriff.
Brooksville Police Chief George Turner was in Sarasota County, attending a public meeting as a finalist for the position of North Port Chief of Police.
BPD Captain Rick Hankins was available to answer questions about documents submitted by Chief Turner. Kahler began with questions about levels of service, balanced with neighborhood differences and response times by law enforcement. Hankins answered, “At the police department, it takes everybody,” where the the Sheriff’s Office would have designated staff to perform certain duties. He went on to say that “The chief (position) isn’t just a desk job … he’s out there working too.”
BPD Detective Tracey Schofield spoke for several members of the department, answering some questions that arose during the discussion of specific police procedures. With regard to the “two deputy” standard that was mentioned, Schofield said “The reality is that two officers aren’t going to cover the city… safely… all the time. We can do it, but there are going to be delays. One domestic (violence call) takes up two of your guys or girls. If another 911 call goes out, there is no one else available.”
Schofield also addressed the topic of expensive tools and technology, saying “At the end of the day, (tools) don’t solve cases, we solve cases.”
The final segment of the workshop pertained to the current pension plan and possible transition should BPD disband. Bonnie Jensen, legal counsel for the city’s pension fund explained that BPD officers would not lose any pension benefits and that several scenarios exist for pension payments to entitled officers. Brooksville would still be responsible for retirement benefits regardless of the fate of BPD.
Before the meeting was adjourned, Vice Mayor Robert Battista posed the question, “Where do we go from here?” More insight into Brooksville’s next steps will likely be on the next regular agenda.
The next regular city council meeting will be Monday, March 05, 2018 at 7:00PM
201 Howell Avenue, Brooksville, Fl – Joseph E. Johnston, III Council Chambers
For more information: City Clerk 352-540-3816