BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — Consolidation of police and fire services with Bradford County was discussed during the Starke City Commission’s May 2 meeting.
Responding to proposed cuts to police and fire rescue, Commissioner Shannon Smith asked for the board request a presentation from Sheriff Gordon Smith on a possible law enforcement merger.
“I think that is a long-term solution that we should explore,” he said, acknowledging it is a tough decision.
If they look at police, then the commission will look at fire rescue consolidation as well, according to Mayor Scott Roberts.
“As far as asking the sheriff to come down — to get the elephant out of the room, consolidation — we can go that route, but then we’re going to look at all the services if we’re going to start talking about consolidation,” Roberts said.
Because the police chief is an elected position, and a vote of the people is required to change the city charter, Roberts will place consideration of a charter referendum on the agenda for the city’s May 16 meeting.
“We can get somebody down here, but ultimately it’s in our charter we have a police chief,” he said.
The charter places the appointment of a police force and funding that department in the hands of the commission, however.
Consolidation is something that needs to be considered prior to the next police chief election in 2025, according to the mayor, to leave time for a transition if consolidation moves forward.
Commissioner Janice Mortimer agreed consolidation needs to be discussed across the board, so it is not a one-sided issue.
“We’re at a very critical point in the city with our financing, and with our moving forward, and we are making tremendous strides towards the future in improving our city for everyone. But we are we are responsible to the people that elected all of us collectively to make the hard decisions,” she said.
“Let’s lay everything on the table, and let’s make those decisions once the citizens tell us by their vote on a referendum as to what direction they want us go to go in,” Mortimer said.
Commissioner Danny Nugent felt citizens had already expressed opposition to law enforcement consolidation, and he continued his opposition as well. (A 2017 charter referendum to remove the clerk as an elected position did not address the police chief. It failed by just six votes with just 16% of voters casting a ballot.)
Nugent said he knows the city is dealing with money issues, but there is no reason to jump the gun and give up its assets.
Commissioner Andy Redding, who joined Commissioner Smith in voting against proceeding with the city manager’s budget as proposed (see related story), said the budget is giving up assets if the allocation for fire rescue results in two-person shifts instead of four.
Nugent saw that as streamlining and being more efficient. When you’re more efficient, you can do more with less, he said.
While he supported law enforcement consolidation, Smith disagreed when it came to cutting fire rescue funding, saying they would be setting the department back by decades.
Roberts said the discussion of the charter referendum would take place at the next meeting.
Placing a referendum on the ballot requires an ordinance passed by at least three commissioners.
