BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — Every public comment shared at Starke’s June 20 meeting was in favor of the city retaining its police and fire department.
Commenters called for fully funding both departments as well, saying the city’s finances were not a good enough reason to turn the departments over to the county.
Some also shared anecdotes about their personnel experiences, including Maria Wells, who said she’s only had to call 911 twice, once for her son and once for her father. Both times, Starke Fire Rescue was the first on scene, and she said they were able to calm her and collect the details in a way dispatch was not.
“To lose any of those men would be a tragedy because they are so important to the city,” she said.
Judith Young said she lives in the historic district, and she often sees the firefighters rolling into action. She feared consolidation would drive up taxes and didn’t trust the level of service could be maintained if multiple firefighters are losing their job.
“I’m not seeing it. I’m seeing men and women that love this community lose their jobs,” she said.
“I’m seriously wondering about the thoughts that are going through each and every one of your heads right now,” John Letourneur said. “The men and women that are involved, that give their lives to run into those buildings, and you just got to throw them out down the road. I’m sorry, I’m not going to stand for that.”
Sarah Lipe said it’s not true that consolidation would lower costs for anyone.
“The county is unable to efficiently staff and run services for the area to which they are currently charged with serving and protecting. The thought that turning safety accountability over to a single agency that will perform these operations for less than what the city is currently operating on is a smokescreen,” she said, adding that fewer police officers and firefighters would increase response times.
“(I) understand the defunding of public safety has been considered under the guise of saving the city money, but I ask you, at whose expense?” Lipe asked.
Glenn Shuford, experienced in firefighting and emergency response, said the quality of what the city receives from its firefighters was worth more than what the county was asking the city to pay for consolidation.
“If you consolidate, you control nothing. You don’t control the police chief. You don’t control the fire chief. You don’t control nothing. Right now, you have opportunity to give the citizens what they want, what they deserve what the taxes are for,” Shuford said.
Speaking about the police department, Sarah Warren said she moved back to the city because it was the safest place to raise her child. Beyond law enforcement, she said officers dedicate hours working with local nonprofits and schools and raising money for initiatives like Shop with a Cop, which has benefited hundreds of children throughout the county for nearly 20 years.
“I ask that you take not only my account but every other citizens’ account of safety, experience and trust into consideration before showing your opinion, which, in your own words, does not matter. Overall, I think I speak on behalf of everyone who showed up tonight when I say the votes being held tonight have no right being in the hands of commissioners. Something of this magnitude should be left for the people to decide. We’re the ones impacted by what you do,” Warren said.
Young returned to the podium to ask how many deputies would be assigned to the city.
“We have how many people how many thousands of people that live in the city right now? You’re building housing developments and apartment complexes. We’re having events within this city that are going to draw bigger and bigger crowds here because we’re trying to put Starke on the map. But all we’re going to end up being is the citizens who are going to be targets,” she said, insisting there would be a lack of law enforcement and an influx of crime.
Sherrise Boyd wanted to see the city try harder and support its police department instead of taking the easy way out.
“I don’t want us to become lazy in our position and find the easy way out. Sometimes working harder will give you a better benefit in the long run if you’re willing to stick to it. This is a small community and I think it would be more appreciated to keep our local police,” she said.
Though sometimes loud, sometimes emotional, the comments were primarily civil. Things became less civil during commissioner discussion when Mayor Scott Roberts had to wrestle with some disruption in the audience for control of the meeting. Roberts also felt his integrity was being attacked for taking positions the audience did not share.
While their support was unanimous, their residency was not. Several speaking were not city residents.
