Vote in the name of the law!
By Al Everson
posted Jul 10, 2008 - 9:12:20am
A divided Deltona City Commission has chosen to allow citizens to decide this fall whether Deltona should establish its own police department.
Currently Deltona, the biggest city in Volusia County, contracts with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office for law enforcement.
The commission's 4-3 decision came after more than four hours of public discussion — often impassioned and spirited — with about 500 spectators on hand.
On the table for the jampacked meeting at Deltona City Hall was a study of the city's police services done by Willdan Homeland Solutions, an Orlando consultant.
"We basically found nothing wrong," said Willdan's Lee Evett. "There is nothing wrong with the services you are receiving today."
In addition to evaluating current services, the consultant was hired to study the contract with the county, which he criticized, and the feasibility of establishing a city police department.
Willdan said Deltona could form its own police department for approximately $12 million during the first year.
That figure was disputed by a chorus of critics — including Sheriff Ben Johnson and homeowners — who said expenses would be much higher.
Their disdain resonated with some on the City Commission.
"Seeing that you all are so motivated, I think we ought to kill this right now," Commissioner Herb Zischkau said, drawing applause as he looked at the audience.
Since its incorporation in 1995, Deltona has contracted with the county for police services. The city's current contract with the Sheriff's Office costs just under $9.3 million for the 2007-08 fiscal year.
Consultant Evett said the city could do better, either by renegotiating its contract with the Sheriff's Office or by establishing its own municipal agency. Evett said the contract is "probably one of the worst contracts we have ever seen," though he added it is "salvageable."
One shortcoming in Deltona's current arrangement, Evett said, is a seeming lack of a police presence.
"You simply need more officers on the street," he told the City Commission.
Deltona's contract with the Sheriff's Office provides for 77 deputies assigned to the city, whose population is approaching 90,000. That equates to less than one peace officer per 1,000 residents. Evett suggested the city may want to hike the ratio to as many as two officers per thousand residents.
Sheriff speaks
Although official statistics indicate Deltona has a low crime rate, compared with other cities in the area, Evett said Part I crimes — which are the serious offenses such as murder, robbery and burglary — have risen in recent years, while the rate of solving these crimes has fallen.
With a sizable show of force at the City Commission meeting, Sheriff Johnson bristled at the consultant's findings.
"Although the study says a lot, it misses a lot," Johnson said.
He reeled off a host of assets and capabilities his agency provides at no extra expense to Deltona. The Major Case Unit, the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team, a bomb unit, an aviation unit and a crime-analysis unit are already at his disposal, and are used as needed, Johnson said.
Recalling the August 2004 baseball-bat murders of six people in a Telford Lane home, Johnson said the overtime pay for deputies and detectives working that case amounted to $1.3 million, a cost the citizens of Deltona did not see.
Moreover, Johnson said, the Sheriff's Office assumes responsibilities for such matters as evidence-handling and liability for police actions. Those are big-ticket expenses not factored into the consultant's estimate of the cost of starting a police department from scratch, he said.
"It costs for all these things," Johnson said.
He said Deltona cannot now afford to make the switch to its own police force.
"You have a city right now that is reeling with foreclosures. People are hurting," Johnson said. "This state is on a beer budget, and you have a champagne appetite."
In fact, the sheriff said the trend is in the opposite direction, that the massive costs of establishing and operating police forces are overburdening cities.
"There's more places in this country that are going to contracts instead of departments," he said.
Johnson received a standing ovation from the crowd, some of whom echoed his misgivings about the unknown true cost of having Deltona's own police.
Residents speak
"Our financial future is uncertain and unstable. There may be a time, but as we say in Tennessee, 'This ain't it,'" Deltona homeowner Linda White told the City Commission. White, who is also the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce of West Volusia and filled in as Deltona's interim city manager in 1998 and 1999, said, "In our present situation, I don't even know why we are having this conversation."
"This is going to be on our backs," said Vikki Wailes, another Deltonan. "Our gas is going up. Our electricity is going up. ... Before you do this, think about us. ... We don't need a police department at this time."
The meeting took something of a raucous turn when Larry DeMatteo appeared wearing a hat with "Property of Alcatraz" printed on it. DeMatteo, a frequent critic of the commission, blasted the notion of setting up a separate police department.
"What's the matter with you people? Do you think we're all millionaires?" he asked.
Mayor Dennis Mulder threatened to eject DeMatteo and others from the chamber when DeMatteo insisted on speaking beyond the time limit established for public comments.
"I'm going to have to ask the sheriff to take you out," Mulder said. "This is not a sporting event."
Yet another unknown cost of having a Deltona police force is the future cost of wages and pensions for the personnel.
Jeff Candage, business manager of Teamsters Local 385, said his union will work to organize the city's police ranks.
"If you build it, we will come," promised Candage.
Let the people decide
A former City Commission candidate differed with the majority of the audience in supporting the idea of a city police department.
"It's time for Deltona to be independent. It's time for Deltona to stand on its own two feet," Dr. Ed Miller said.
In response to critics' questions about why the city had even begun debating the idea of a police department, Commissioner Janet Deyette had an answer.
"A large number of citizens last year asked us for a police study, and we have that study," she said. "I want us to put it to a vote."
"I strongly believe that's what needs to happen," Mayor Mulder said.
Mulder and Deyette were joined by Vice Mayor Michael Carmolingo and Commissioner Paul Treusch in supporting a referendum that would be on the ballot in the Nov. 4 general election.
Commissioners Zenaida Denizac and Michele McFall-Conte joined Zischkau in opposing the referendum.
"What the public wants from us is for us to get our house in order," Denizac said.
Looking ahead
In any event, Deltona officials will negotiate a new contract with the Sheriff's Office for at least one more year of service. The new contract will expire Sept. 30, 2009.
The commission will decide soon whether the referendum will be binding or nonbinding, and how to frame the ballot question.
If Deltona opts for its own police force, based on the Willdan Homeland Solutions proposal for law-enforcement staffing at its current level, personnel charges in the first year would be about $9 million, plus an additional $3 million in capital expenses.
The capital purchases would include cars, communications equipment, weapons and uniforms. The city could borrow money for the capital expenses and repay the debt over a number of years, the study noted.
Other costs not specified, as noted by Willdan, are the cost of an attorney to advise law-enforcement personnel, as needed, as well as liability coverage for police officers.
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We need more of a police presence to reduce the gang activity in this town. Safety should be our number 1 priority above anything else. The report also states that increased business will require an increased police presence, especially for retail. We have a HUGE new retail center under construction at I-4 and Howland and we are going to need more than the VCSD alone can provide us at their inflated costs.
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