BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — Starke city commissioners voted to place law enforcement services in the hands of the county sheriff, but not before an eruption of anger and profanity from the audience had the city calling on Sheriff Smith to help restore order.
Police Chief Jeff Johnson was among those angered by the decision. When Commissioner Janice Mortimer made a motion to accept Sheriff Gordon Smith’s contract proposal, Johnson rose to leave the meeting. On the way out, he argued with an elderly member of the audience who said he felt threatened by the chief’s demeanor.
Johnson was joined in his departure by his officers, their family members and other public supporters. After two of those supporters began yelling at the commission, and the mayor called a recess so the sheriff’s office could be called, Johnson was heard encouraging them to leave, saying, “Let them have their fun.”
Smith arrived in time to witness the 4-1 vote once the meeting resumed.
Following the meeting, Smith said he and Johnson are friends, and the city commission’s decision was based on economics.
“I hope to work well with Chief Johnson in making this transition as smooth as possible,” he said.
Smith acknowledged that the situation is upsetting. As an elected official, the chief’s job is protected by the charter, but not so for the police officers. Smith said he would be meeting with them and encouraging them to apply to work for him.
In the meantime, Smith said they will be working to prevent any loss in coverage during the transition.
The city commission wrestled with the police and fire department budgets last year, cutting both to reduce the amount of utility revenue that was being spent on general government instead of system maintenance and improvements. Commissioners narrowly rejected a plan from the sheriff at that time when Johnson said he could slim down his department and operate for $1.1 million a year.
That was the same offer he presented Tuesday night, although it took a grant paying for two of his officers to get him there. Mayor Scott Roberts criticized him for presenting his current budget, noting that budget was already being overspent by $240,000. (Johnson said there were oversight in multiple budgets that would begin to show up.)
Johnson’s budget included his $105,000 salary and benefit package. The cost of 10 staff members, including two sergeants, came to $775,000. Johnson said the $300,000 in operations costs would vary based on the cost of insurance, workers compensation, etc. This totaled $1.18 million, but an $85,000 grant would help fund two positions, reducing the city’s costs to just under $1.1 million.
Meanwhile, the sheriff’s proposal, presented by City Manager Drew Mullins, was to provide 24/7 coverage of the city for $625,000 a year, currently equivalent to 2.5 mills of the city’s annual property tax levy. (This is existing revenue, not a tax increase.) The effective date proposed was March 1, with 180 days to transfer property, evidence, etc.
Commissioner Danny Nugent was the only opponent on the commission to contracting with the sheriff for law enforcement services. He said as county taxpayers as well as city taxpayers, Starke shouldn’t be paying the sheriff any more money for law enforcement.
Nugent said the sheriff’s proposal did not include the cost for Johnson’s salary and benefits. The chief keeps his job even if the city gives up the police department, and the commission pays him. Both Nugent and Johnson wanted a charter referendum, giving voters the opportunity to decide whether or not they should maintain an elected police chief. According to them, a vote for an elected chief would be seen as a vote for keeping the police department.
“This decision is too crucial not to hear the vote of the people. I believe the charter protects the right for the citizens to decide,” Johnson said.
Mortimer questioned how much the grant Johnson mentioned would cost the city, and Finance Director James Hughes said it would cost more than $500,000 over the five-year grant period. Commissioner Andy Redding said that amount of money to get a $250,000 grant was “not good math.”
Redding said the city was duplicating services by having a police department with a command staff, office staff and facilities that the sheriff already has in place.
“We have to look at the cost benefit analysis, and that we maintain the same level of service or better. It really for me comes down to dollars and cents,” Redding said.
As for the charter, he called it “archaic.” Mortimer said a charter review is long overdue.
Mayor Roberts challenged Johnson’s claim that the sheriff couldn’t provide the same level of service for his proposed contract fee. According to Johnson, if an incident occurred in the county, the sheriff would pull deputies assigned to Starke outside of the city.
Responding to that after the meeting, Smith said that is the case now when an emergency occurs. Most of the time, however, his deputies are backing up police officers inside the city, responding to more than 1,200 calls a year.
“They assist us. We assist them. It’s all teamwork,” he said.
Because of the coverage zones, there are two to three deputies in the city much of the time, according to the sheriff. Two full-time officers per shift working for the sheriff’s office instead of the police department won’t impact coverage. It will streamline operations, he said.
The debate over law enforcement had ended last year when the city approved the 2023-24 budget. Things were to move forward with the chief remaining in charge of his smaller department on patrol and responding to calls and turning investigations over to the sheriff’s office. The recent arrest of a mentally compromised man for a crime his family said he couldn’t have committed had the commission calling the sheriff back to the table.
Sheriff Smith said he understands Johnson’s upset and his drive to stand up for his officers. He would feel the same way in that position, he said.
“At the end of the day, when he takes a deep breath, we’re still friends. He loves his city. I love the city, been a public servant my whole life. We’re going to work together and make sure that we do what we took an oath to do and serve the public,” Smith said.
