Feb. 12--FORT WALTON BEACH -- Okaloosa County Sheriff Larry Ashley says consolidating the Police Department and the Sheriff's Office could be the best way for the city to shore up its finances.
"They've got other choices," Ashley said Thursday. "None of them are popular. They can annex ... and create a larger tax base. They can raise taxes. They can lay off employees and cut services. ... They can also do what a lot of politicians do and kick the can down the road."
The city could reorder its priorities and stop funding its library, parks and museum.
"Or, they can consolidate," Ashley said. "I know what looks best to me."
In January, the Fort Walton Beach City Council resumed plans to seek a cost estimate for contracting law enforcement services from the Sheriff's Office. The city wants to know if Ashley can provide the same level of public safety at a lower price than it's paying now.
Ashley said he's prepared to present his proposal to the council at its Feb. 28 meeting or anytime after.
"Whenever they want to hear it, we'll be ready for them," he said. "I think there's a lot of people scared of what the numbers will show."
Politics and finances
The controversial proposal has stirred debate across the county, particularly on the south end, where several municipalities already contract with the Sheriff's Office for law enforcement.
A loosely organized collection of city and county residents and business owners have formed an opposition group called Save the Fort Walton Beach Police Department. The group is circulating a petition to fight consolidation.
Ashley, who is running for re-election this year, dismissed the group as his "campaign opponents" who are spreading misinformation and adding to a growing concern about the proposal.
He said he's worried that many city residents don't fully understand why the city is considering consolidation.
"It's come up before because of politics," Ashley said. "This time it came up because of finances. They've got more government than they can afford right now."
The Police Department is dealing with decreasing population, decreasing calls for service but an increasing budget, he said.
"That's not an indictment of Fort Walton Beach, but it doesn't look good," Ashley said.
Since 2009, the city's population has decreased from 20,700 to 19,500 while the calls to police for service dropped from 39,000 to 34,000.
Ashley also pointed to what he called the city's $7 million police "pension benefit debt" as a major concern.
"They've got $7 million in unfunded liabilities in their pension benefit," he said. "It just continues to get worse and worse."
Fort Walton Beach Finance Director Brandy Wunker said she would not characterize the city's police pension as unhealthy.
"We recognize that the recession has taken its toll on our pension (funds)," Wunker said. "They're struggling, just like anyone's 401k, just on a much grander level because of the amount of money we have in it."
Economies of scale
Ashley said his presentation to the council will be based on taking advantage of the economies of scale that exist locally.
"From the start, I've told (the city) the only way you take advantage of economies of scale is you don't duplicate," he said. "If you don't duplicate, that means there will be some jobs lost."
Ashley said the bottom line is whether the city wants to see significant savings by increasing efficiency.
"Do we need two dispatch centers?" Ashley said. "Do we need two SWAT teams? It takes a lot of money to keep them trained and outfitted and equipped. Why can't we share one countywide? Why can't we share fleet services?"
Ashley suggested that the savings from consolidation could be used to pay down the city's debt on its police building.
In 2001, the Police Department, Fire Department, library and various City Hall renovations were funded through a $5.7 million bond issue.
"There's approximately 20 years left on it," Wunker said. "Those bonds are just now coming to the point where they can be paid off."
By the end of fiscal 2012, the city will owe $4.47 million on the bond project, she added.
If consolidation happens, the city would be faced with several major questions over what to do with the police pension program.
"There are several different options and we would have to explore each of those options," Wunker said. "There are so many different ways to do it."
'A lot of anxiety'
Ashley said he considers the proposed consolidation a minor campaign issue.
"I don't think it's an election issue for the sheriff's race," he said. "The sheriff can't go take over any police department. That's the City Council's (decision)."
But consolidation will take center stage Feb. 20 at an Ashley campaign event at Two Trees Restaurant in Fort Walton Beach. He has invited sheriff's deputies, police officers and active and retired military personnel to attend an informational meeting about consolidation and other issues.
"The whole reason for doing the campaign event is ... officers are out there with a lot of anxiety," Ashley said.
Consolidation would affect all of them in different ways, he added.
"Say they were to consolidate, that officer that's got one to five years of service -- doesn't affect him hardly any," he said. "They get vested in their current pension plan at 10 years."
The officer with seven to nine years of service "gets hurt probably the most," Ashley said. "The guy that's already vested ... it doesn't hurt them at all. They just basically become part of two pension programs."
Ashley said he is pursuing consolidation only at the city's urging and isn't out to create a "fiefdom," as some critics have charged.
He said consolidation doesn't necessarily benefit the Sheriff's Office, but he feels obligated to offer its services to the city because Fort Walton Beach residents are also county residents.
"I'm as responsible to them as I am (to county residents)," Ashley said. "If the city folds ... if they go bankrupt, they can't do their job, who do you think will go in there and pick it up? It will be the Sheriff's Office, except it won't be with any help."
Ashley said his authority, jurisdiction and pay will not change or increase because of consolidation, but he would be looking at working longer hours and accepting more challenges.
The sheriff said he looks forward to sharing his presentation with the city.
"They've got five, six, seven options," Ashley said. "If I'm sitting on the City Council, none of them are easy. But the one that makes the most sense is, 'Hey, let's keep the same level of service we have and save a lot of money doing it.' "
Copyright 2012 - Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach
