04-19-2009, 08:56 PM
2009 has kicked off new beginnings for several. Sheriff Hall is in his third and possibly, his final term in office. Major/Director/Major Morris went from the #2 spot to #3, then he left the agency altogether. Major Collier is now Unit 2. Capt Onka took over as Captain of Administration and Lt. Floyd was promoted to Captain over Law Enforcement Operations. We saw Sgt. Laws and Sgt. McCurdy promoted to Lt, and Deputies Nathan Hall, Mai Harnett, Doug Bringmans and Pete Bristol promoted to Sgt. There are two threads soley devoted to the Sgt promotions and unfortunately the majority of the posts are negative against the new sgts. None were spared the gauntlet of hateful words by others, and none of those comments, by any means, would have changed the minds of the admin that recommended them for promotion or the Sheriff's signature from being signed on the orders. It is what it is and that's what we all have to work with. Lets's not forget the two sgts that have left patrol to go into their specialized areas of SRO and Narcotics.
What will the rest of 2009 bring? As far as promotions go, there are two road sgts that may be retiring, and "may" meaning that nothing is confirmed. Who knows when another Lt or sgt retires, quits or otherwise leaves the agency in less than ho0norable circumtances? We'll cross that bridge when we get there. It may not even be this year, or it may be in a few weeks. The only question that remains, and was never answered in the other threads, is who should be the next sgt? The admin takes the tops five names and then makes a recomendation to the sheriff. One is being skipped over due to turning down a promotion but remains in the top five. We'll get the answer if other slots come open.
The budget is going to be a hot topic. Trying to get more money from the county commisioners is always problematice. There are 5 on that board, and at least two are always up for re-election. Let's not forget our sheriff himself is a politician. He wants to keep his options open int he event he decides to go for term #4. With that being said, politicians will not always be forthright with what you should be hearing but what they want you to hear. Motives and bottom line intent is never put on the table. That could explain why the specualtion rumors and other so-called information are piped down the communication network known as the "grapevine." We never get a straight answer BOCC or our own admin until it is policy. The only constant is new raises, new eqipment and new positions are a thing of the past in the eyes of watchful experts that don't have to worry about working signal 15's to make ends meat.
With the budget being a serious problem, everything is effective. Sheriff Hall did spoil a lot of us by putting most of us in new cars. Some of us had been issued as many as 3 brand new cars in the past several years. But the money crunch dictated things had to be cut back, and replacement of the fleet was one of the first areas to be cut. The previous fleet Lt saw this coming and opted to buy Impalas, to the dismay of the deputies. They are cheaper to buy and when under warranty, any vehicle is inexpensive to repair. But even the "cheap" Impalas took a hit. There were only 8-9 of them bought with this years budget, and they were replacements for totaled out cars bought with insurance monies. Lt. Killingsworth has a pilot program to have some of the older cars reconditioned. There are agencies across the country that do this. Patrol cars are taken to a facility, stripped, re-upholstered, re-painted, and any mechanical defeciencies are addressed. The suspension is replaced, and the drive train gets an overhaul (when needed). When completed, the car is given a 2nd life at the cost of arounf $9,000.00. The cars may not be brand new, but many have said they would take an old Crown Vic over a brand new Impala. Who knows, some may get a chance to drive their old car when their Impalas die out. That is contengient if a full blown program to rebuild the cars is approved. We may just have to nurse them along without new stuff.
All that is mentioned in this post happened over a 4 month period. With a little over 8 months left in the year, who knows what will happen? Another hurricane could arrived an blow the sheriff's office apart (it happened before), all hell could break loose in Santa Rosa County, or then again, it could be a quiet remainder of an already hectic year. Maybe this blog will fizzle out from the boredom of events worth talking about, or lack therof, or people just grow tired of the same rhetoric. Even so, it's still a new beginning for some, and perhaps all of us.
What will the rest of 2009 bring? As far as promotions go, there are two road sgts that may be retiring, and "may" meaning that nothing is confirmed. Who knows when another Lt or sgt retires, quits or otherwise leaves the agency in less than ho0norable circumtances? We'll cross that bridge when we get there. It may not even be this year, or it may be in a few weeks. The only question that remains, and was never answered in the other threads, is who should be the next sgt? The admin takes the tops five names and then makes a recomendation to the sheriff. One is being skipped over due to turning down a promotion but remains in the top five. We'll get the answer if other slots come open.
The budget is going to be a hot topic. Trying to get more money from the county commisioners is always problematice. There are 5 on that board, and at least two are always up for re-election. Let's not forget our sheriff himself is a politician. He wants to keep his options open int he event he decides to go for term #4. With that being said, politicians will not always be forthright with what you should be hearing but what they want you to hear. Motives and bottom line intent is never put on the table. That could explain why the specualtion rumors and other so-called information are piped down the communication network known as the "grapevine." We never get a straight answer BOCC or our own admin until it is policy. The only constant is new raises, new eqipment and new positions are a thing of the past in the eyes of watchful experts that don't have to worry about working signal 15's to make ends meat.
With the budget being a serious problem, everything is effective. Sheriff Hall did spoil a lot of us by putting most of us in new cars. Some of us had been issued as many as 3 brand new cars in the past several years. But the money crunch dictated things had to be cut back, and replacement of the fleet was one of the first areas to be cut. The previous fleet Lt saw this coming and opted to buy Impalas, to the dismay of the deputies. They are cheaper to buy and when under warranty, any vehicle is inexpensive to repair. But even the "cheap" Impalas took a hit. There were only 8-9 of them bought with this years budget, and they were replacements for totaled out cars bought with insurance monies. Lt. Killingsworth has a pilot program to have some of the older cars reconditioned. There are agencies across the country that do this. Patrol cars are taken to a facility, stripped, re-upholstered, re-painted, and any mechanical defeciencies are addressed. The suspension is replaced, and the drive train gets an overhaul (when needed). When completed, the car is given a 2nd life at the cost of arounf $9,000.00. The cars may not be brand new, but many have said they would take an old Crown Vic over a brand new Impala. Who knows, some may get a chance to drive their old car when their Impalas die out. That is contengient if a full blown program to rebuild the cars is approved. We may just have to nurse them along without new stuff.
All that is mentioned in this post happened over a 4 month period. With a little over 8 months left in the year, who knows what will happen? Another hurricane could arrived an blow the sheriff's office apart (it happened before), all hell could break loose in Santa Rosa County, or then again, it could be a quiet remainder of an already hectic year. Maybe this blog will fizzle out from the boredom of events worth talking about, or lack therof, or people just grow tired of the same rhetoric. Even so, it's still a new beginning for some, and perhaps all of us.