08-10-2008, 11:29 PM
Lake Worth approves Police Department merger with Sheriff's Office
10-year contract is expected to go into effect by year's end
By Jerome Burdi | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
August 6, 2008
The 91-member Lake Worth Police Department will become part of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office by the end of the year.
City commissioners voted 3-2 on Monday night to merge into the bigger agency.
"I really believe the sheriff will make a huge impact on crime in the community," Lake Worth Mayor Jeff Clemens said Tuesday.
The 10-year contract should be ironed out in the next two weeks. Originally a contract for $14.2 million, Clemens said the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association negotiated a $435,000 pay cut for the soon-to-be deputies, about 8 percent per person, to help balance out a city debt to the officers' pension plan.
The city got behind in matching payments in the police pension plan. Because of the merger, the $12 million pension debt has to be paid off in about eight years instead of 25. The negotiated pay reduction brought the contract down to about $13.8 million.
"It will end up with us saving some money," Clemens said.
Despite critics' warnings of a tax increase, the mayor said he doesn't foresee one.
The 91 new deputies no longer will have to contribute to their pension plan and will receive better health benefits, officials said.
In a takeover, any city officers who meet Sheriff's Office standards, including a background check, will be hired by the larger agency, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw has said.
Last year, Mangonia Park joined South Bay, Belle Glade, Pahokee and Royal Palm Beach in contracting with the Sheriff's Office.
Bradshaw said the takeovers have been a success.
"We never solicit these; it's always a response to a request," Sheriff's Maj. Michael Veccia said. "It is far more functional, it is cost effective, it eliminates redundancy."
Lake Worth resident Panagioti Tsolkas doesn't like the idea of a merger, fearing less local accountability.
"We'd have to go to the county," he said.
He also fears that social programs to make the community safer will be cut.
"Then you start losing the social cohesion of a functional city that takes care of its kids," Tsolkas said.
Clemens said currently there are only about five or six officers working on each shift. He anticipates that number will double when the Sheriff's Office takes over. Many of the homicides that occur in the city already are handled by the county Violent Crimes Task Force, which is based in the Sheriff's Office.
"You're still going to be seeing the same people in your neighborhood," the mayor said. "They'll just be wearing a different color uniform and there's going to be more of them."
Jerome Burdi can be reached at jjburdi@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6531.
10-year contract is expected to go into effect by year's end
By Jerome Burdi | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
August 6, 2008
The 91-member Lake Worth Police Department will become part of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office by the end of the year.
City commissioners voted 3-2 on Monday night to merge into the bigger agency.
"I really believe the sheriff will make a huge impact on crime in the community," Lake Worth Mayor Jeff Clemens said Tuesday.
The 10-year contract should be ironed out in the next two weeks. Originally a contract for $14.2 million, Clemens said the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association negotiated a $435,000 pay cut for the soon-to-be deputies, about 8 percent per person, to help balance out a city debt to the officers' pension plan.
The city got behind in matching payments in the police pension plan. Because of the merger, the $12 million pension debt has to be paid off in about eight years instead of 25. The negotiated pay reduction brought the contract down to about $13.8 million.
"It will end up with us saving some money," Clemens said.
Despite critics' warnings of a tax increase, the mayor said he doesn't foresee one.
The 91 new deputies no longer will have to contribute to their pension plan and will receive better health benefits, officials said.
In a takeover, any city officers who meet Sheriff's Office standards, including a background check, will be hired by the larger agency, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw has said.
Last year, Mangonia Park joined South Bay, Belle Glade, Pahokee and Royal Palm Beach in contracting with the Sheriff's Office.
Bradshaw said the takeovers have been a success.
"We never solicit these; it's always a response to a request," Sheriff's Maj. Michael Veccia said. "It is far more functional, it is cost effective, it eliminates redundancy."
Lake Worth resident Panagioti Tsolkas doesn't like the idea of a merger, fearing less local accountability.
"We'd have to go to the county," he said.
He also fears that social programs to make the community safer will be cut.
"Then you start losing the social cohesion of a functional city that takes care of its kids," Tsolkas said.
Clemens said currently there are only about five or six officers working on each shift. He anticipates that number will double when the Sheriff's Office takes over. Many of the homicides that occur in the city already are handled by the county Violent Crimes Task Force, which is based in the Sheriff's Office.
"You're still going to be seeing the same people in your neighborhood," the mayor said. "They'll just be wearing a different color uniform and there's going to be more of them."
Jerome Burdi can be reached at jjburdi@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6531.