Summary
Chief Starling asked for four patrol officers (net increase of two), cited rising service-area size and proposed specialty units including K‑9, traffic enforcement and restored school resource officers.
Dade City Police Chief Starling asked the commission to add four police officers in the coming budget — described in the presentation as an increase of two from last year’s ask — to keep pace with population and geographic growth and expand proactive policing.
"My vision for the police department includes some more specialty units," Chief Starling said. He outlined a desire for traffic enforcement/crash investigators, a community engagement unit (officers on bikes for downtown), a K‑9 program and restoration of school resource officers as schools expand.
Chief Starling said the department’s current training pipeline constrains how many officers can be added at once. He warned that it can take nearly a year from hiring to a fully trained officer able to operate independently. That training pipeline, he said, and the availability of field training officers will limit how fast the department can place new officers on the street.
Staff presented a starting pay figure for officers under the police bargaining agreement: $52,500 as entry‑level pay. Presenters said the department has been understaffed for shifts and that public safety dispatch/communications positions had been reclassified the prior year to increase staffing in that unit.
Commissioners asked the chief to outline how the department would balance proactive policing and response duties. Chief Starling said the department must analyze calls for service and determine how much proactive time commissioners want officers to have for neighborhood patrols, traffic enforcement and outreach. He said adding officers would help reduce response times and allow more officer time for community engagement.
No final hiring decisions were made. The staffing request was left in the draft budget for further review during the budget process.
