Florida Chief Shares Thoughts on Consolidation

March 29--FORT WALTON BEACH -- Police Chief Ted Litschauer has broken his silence on the issue of police consolidation.

He has released a candid 19-page review of Okaloosa County Sheriff Larry Ashley's proposal to fold the Police Department into the Sheriff's Office.

Litschauer said the review includes aspects of consolidation that he finds "worthy of note." Among his top concerns are officer retention and staffing levels, response times, proposed savings and city control over law enforcement services and policies.

The document, which is still being finalized by City Manager Bob Mearns, was submitted to City Council members Wednesday.

In the review, Litschauer disagreed with Ashley's estimated savings of almost $2 million after consolidation.

"Instead, the realistic amount will be closer to one-half million dollars," he wrote. "However, the loss of control and identity will still result -- not to mention the devastation to a large number of city employee families."

Litschauer said Fort Walton Beach will have several ongoing costs -- such as maintenance of the police station, pension contributions and animal control costs -- to consider even if it contracts with the Sheriff's Office.

Litschauer's review stated that a great deal of confusion surrounds the police pension fund. He objected to Ashley's characterization of the city's financial health as poor in regard to the pension.

"It is frightening to look at large numbers associated with the word liability," he wrote. "Anxiety is increased when dire comments are made about pension obligations, especially if the comments contain misinformation or are misleading."

Litschauer said the pension's "unfunded accrued actuarial liability is not an underfunded accrued actuarial liability."

"In fact, it is actuarially sound, which is why the city makes large contributions each year," he wrote.

In 2010, the city contributed $516,828 to the police pension, the report said.

Litschauer said the city would best benefit from the analysis of a pension expert to determine how the fund would be affected by consolidation.

"Portraying that the city is on the brink of financial disaster has been something emanating from the sheriff, not from the city manager or finance director," he wrote. "The latter two are those who would be responsible for sounding such an alarm, when it is warranted."

In his review, the chief disagreed with Ashley's per capita law enforcement cost because it did not include business owners in the city.

He said a more precise measure is the number of officers available per 1,000 in population. In Fort Walton Beach, that ratio is 2.6 officers per 1,000 people compared to 2.2 deputies per 1,000 in the county.

Litschauer also took issue with Ashley's reconfiguration of police staff. He said the Sheriff's Office's proposal failed to deliver the City Council's requested "apples to apples" comparison. It instead proposed "decreases in front-line positions, as well as in supervision, command, executive and administrative areas."

He added that the consolidated staff reflects a significant decrease of manpower in the city's problem areas.

Litschauer's review noted that under consolidation, the city would no longer have a police chief who answers directly to the city manager and council members. Instead, the chief's duties would shift to an existing sheriff's captain who oversees the county's central district.

"The OCSO captain reports to a major, who reports to an undersheriff, who reports to the sheriff," he wrote. "While his assignment may include coordinating with the city manager, it will not require him to report directly to the city manager. ... The difference is ominous."

In his review, Litschauer warned city officials that "an OCSO takeover" would centralize all law enforcement authority under one person and could be used "to justify a takeover of the other city police departments in the county."

He said Ashley's "cavalier indication" that the Police Department, once dissolved, could easily be restarted was "such an oversimplification that it is erroneous."

"Law enforcement officers are not chattels, which can be traded back and forth," Litschauer wrote. "In fact, the same officers may not even be involved. Standing up a new police department is quite difficult and extremely expensive."

The review stated that Fort Walton Beach residents have come to rely on a high quality of service from the Police Department.

"In exchange for paying both county and city taxes, city residents demand both direct city control, as well as higher levels of service than are generally found at the county level," Litschauer wrote. "If consolidation occurs, city residents will pay city taxes to receive law enforcement services from the OCSO, which they could have received by living in the county, without paying city taxes."

Litschauer said Wednesday that he is grateful for the outcry of public support for the Police Department in recent weeks. He said he worries about his employees, who have no guarantee from Ashley that they will be retained.

"We've got a lot of good people, and I think (Ashley) will hire some," he said in a telephone interview. "But I think there's some number of good people that might not fit the mold and might not be taken. ... As their leader, I feel a responsibility for them, not only in their duties, but in their lives."