By CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY
christopher.tuffley@newssun.com
AVON PARK -- On June 11, the city council, in a 3-2 vote, directed city manager Julian Deleon to approach Highlands County Sheriff Susan Benton for an estimate of what it would cost the sheriff's office to provide law enforcement service for the city.
The final decision about whether to contract with the sheriff or continue with the local police department may be made as early as July 23. It absolutely has to be done by Aug. 4.
The primary issue is one of expense, triggered by the rising costs of the police department's dedicated benefit pension plan.
The majority of the council wanted to know which law enforcement service would be less costly to the city.
Both Micciche and Deleon praised the negotiating process and those taking part. They each said discussions were useful and courteous.
This is a change from complaints last week regarding alleged police intimidation during earlier city council meetings. According to Deleon some council members reported feeling so threatened that he formally requested four sheriff deputies be assigned to city council meetings to keep order in future discussions.
On June 26, the sheriff released a proposal providing for a force of 16 sworn officers and one civilian for an annual fee of $980,000.
Another $75,000 was later added as a contingency fund in the event of cost overruns, like unexpected overtime costs or emergency replacement of equipment. That money would return to the city if it was not used.
Generally speaking then, the sheriff's proposal rounds out to about $1.1 million.
The police department is proposing changes to make it financially competitive with the sheriff that would lower its costs to between $1.4 and $1.8 million.
Stephen Micciche is the chief negotiator for the local PBA. In a telephone interview with the News-Sun on Tuesday morning, he explained the PBA position.
Micciche said that, obviously, most police concerns had to do with job security, adding this is not the first time the idea of abolishing the police department has been raised.
"They have been living under the threat of a Damocles Sword for years," Micciche said. The department hopes one result of negotiations is that the subject is put to rest.
Police officers, however, said Micciche, recognize the need for compromise and concessions.
They are willing to reform their pension options, moving to a defined contribution plan and away from a defined benefit plan for all new hires and officers with fewer than five years of service.
This means the city can negotiate cap costs on police contributions. At the same time the officers will increase their personal payroll contribution to 8 percent, from 5 percent, saving the city 3 percent in pension contribution costs.
The sheriff's proposal called for a smaller force, fielding only 16 officers.
While concerned that reducing the force so much might leave coverage "at a dangerous level," Micciche said the union is willing to look at laying off up to four officers itself to bring its numbers closer to the sheriff's: 18 as opposed to 16 sworn officers.
Some of the sheriff's savings don't really the city money, Micciche said.
For example, in one proposed scenario, where the sheriff's office takes over law enforcement and three Avon Park senior officers remain on the payroll to oversee that service, the city would be responsible for those three officer's salaries and equipment, at an annual cost of approximately $361,000.
This, Micciche said, further diminishes the difference in cost between the sheriff's proposal and the department's contract.
Finally, it is not as if the city were in debt and financial trouble, Micciche said.
In fact, city council has voted to lower the city's millage, and has already budgeted $2 million for the department -- more than the police department believes it needs before the new proposed cuts are made.
The ultimate choice in choosing to contract with the sheriff or sign a contract with the existing department is up to the city council. Deleon told the News-sun he will bring each proposal before the city council for its deliberation and decision.
"Unfortunately," Deleon wrote in an e-mail, "the council is not able to formally discuss or consider the Sheriff's proposal until the Aug. 4th scheduled meeting."
He will present the police union's proposal at the July 23 regular city council meeting.
On July 23, Deleon said, "the city council has basically has three options. One, they can vote to ratify (the PBA contract), they vote to decline, or three, they can table (the question) until Aug. 4th. They may ask me to negotiate more.
"For clarification," Deleon stressed, "the sheriff's proposal is nothing more than a response to a city request."
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 - www.newssun.com/071812-ct-APPD-negotiations