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Police department reports staffing moves, recruitment challenges and $8,000 Stone Garden grant for boat overtime
Summary
Deputy leadership and the commission reviewed department personnel updates, a pending eligibility list, a DEA assignment change, and a Stone Garden federal grant that will fund limited boat overtime next summer.
Deputy Chief Jesse reported the department’s eligibility list for hiring has not yet been established and that staff will follow up with the county personnel contact (Derek) to formally start the process. The commission approved the monthly reports.
Deputy Chief Jesse said Officer John Ames began service on Aug. 25 and is progressing through field training, which staff now expect he will complete in a few weeks. “He’s doing a great job,” Deputy Chief Jesse said of Ames, noting prior experience and local familiarity have aided the officer’s transition.
Leadership also discussed a vacancy and assignment in the department’s investigative/detective work: Sergeant Keriko expressed interest in returning to the DEA assignment. Meeting participants said Keriko is the strongest candidate for the role and that the department will allow a voluntary demotion from sergeant back to patrol so he can rejoin DEA; the demotion would create a sergeant opening to fill later. The chiefs said the department follows a practice of not placing sergeants permanently inside detective units in order to preserve supervisory coverage on patrol.
Deputy Chief Jesse outlined a federal grant known as Stone Garden, administered through FEMA and passed to the state and county for local disbursement. “We are granted $8,000 for the boat for overtime,” the deputy said, describing the allocation as enough for about 14 two‑person overtime shifts next summer; the funds do not reimburse for fuel.
Commissioners discussed recruitment challenges and noted the department is budgeted for 23 positions; with an upcoming departure the authorized headcount will drop to 22 for the fiscal year, and the new hire rate would be at 80 percent of top pay as part of the hiring scale. Commissioners said they plan to consider ways to make public‑safety recruitment more competitive.
Next actions: the department will follow up with county HR to establish the eligibility list, monitor Officer Ames’s FTO completion and manage internal staffing changes as Sergeant Keriko transitions. The monthly reports were approved by motion.
