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SEBRING - Highlands County Sheriff Susan Benton, citing county budget cuts and other issues, has reorganized the sheriff's office.
As part of the reorganization, which went into effect Oct. 1, Benton said she cut seven positions and made former sheriff's Maj. Mark Schrader chief deputy.
"The day-to-day operations of the sheriff's office fall to the responsibility of the chief deputy," the sheriff said. "It gives him the authority with the responsibility."
Being chief deputy relieves him of his former duties as major, which included running the law enforcement bureau.
Since taking office in January 2005, Benton said she has only had a chief deputy for about six months before naming Schrader chief.
Before making Schrader chief deputy, the acting leader when the sheriff was out of the office was either Schrader or Maj. David Paeplow. "Then it got to a point where the need was so great, and that constant rotating was tough, and there's so much that needs attention in the jail," Benton said. She named Schrader as her permanent second-in-command nearly a year ago.
Schrader, who holds undergraduate and master's degrees in business administration, has the administrative ability to go with his 28 years of experience and training in law enforcement, Benton said.
Having Schrader as chief deputy allows her more time in the community and makes her more accessible to county residents, Benton said. It also allows her to serve on various boards and commissions, which strengthens ties with state officials, she said. Such ties give the county more access to resources and manpower when needed.
The sheriff's office did have three bureaus — law enforcement, administration and detention — but now has two after eliminating the administrative bureau, Benton said.
The business, human resources and information service administrators and their employees, as well as the law enforcement and detention bureaus, now answer directly to the chief deputy, Benton said.
The major's position that formerly oversaw the administrative bureau has been reclassified as the chief deputy, the sheriff said.
Many of the personnel moves took place in the law enforcement bureau.
Booker Johnson, a former detention captain and 29-year-veteran of the sheriff's office, is now a major in charge of the law enforcement bureau.
Capt. Randy LaBelle, who headed the criminal investigations unit, is now over the uniform patrol division. Capt. Tim Lethbridge, who was a lieutenant over the special victims' unit, now oversees the criminal investigations division. Capt. Paul Blackman was moved from the uniform patrol division to the court-related services division. Capt. J.P. Fane remains communications division captain.
Maj. David Paeplow, a 30-year veteran with the sheriff's office, remains in charge of the detention bureau.
Capt. Jeff Barfield moved from court-related services to the detention security division. Barfield replaced Capt. Bobby Green, who now leads the detention operations division.
"It's very healthy for an organization to experience different leadership. It's healthy for the sustainability of an organization that your top administrators have all the experience they can possibly get for the future of the organization," Benton said of the changes.
The budget cuts also made the reorganization necessary, the sheriff added.
The leaders oversee a staff of 336, which includes 13 part-timers. Of the total staff, 142 are sworn law enforcement officers and 72 are sworn detention officers. Some are certified in both, Benton said.
The school board now funds two school resource officer positions that had been cut, Benton said. The sheriff's office and the school board each pay half of the salaries of three additional school resource officers.
The moves will make the sheriff's office more efficient, the sheriff said.
When people speak about the sheriff's office, "they think cops and robbers. They think green-and-white cars and uniforms and maybe they think of the jail," Benton said. "But this is a $23 million-a-year budget. It's a huge business, not unlike a corporation."
The public, "who provides that $23 million," trusts the sheriff's office to "run a really tight, efficient business," she added.
