Fairhope council green-lights consideration to expand police take-home vehicle radius to improve recruitment

Fairhope police proposed expanding the department's take-home vehicle area from a 15-mile radius to a 30-mile radius to include Mobile County, a change Chief said is intended to broaden the applicant pool and help recruitment. The request came during a council work session when the police chief told the council the department has struggled to recruit qualified applicants and that other agencies in Baldwin County had expanded their take-home policies with positive results. "We are asking y'all to consider changing it to a 30 mile radius to include Mobile County," the chief said. Councilors voiced support for the change while qualifying it as one piece of a broader retention and recruitment strategy. Council President said she was willing to "give this a shot" but asked the chief to pursue outside consultant review as well: "If there is a consulting service ... that could dive into our police department and find out if there's anything else that would help with recruiting or retention, that we look at that as well." The council asked staff to place ordinance language to amend the take-home policy on a future agenda. The chief told the council the department's internal recruitment team has repeatedly identified the 15-mile limit as a barrier: "One of the number one things that they always come back to me with is, 'chief, we've got a great candidate ... but they live outside the 15 mile policy.'" He also said scheduling and pay were commonly cited items in candidate feedback and that the department has discussed options such as more predictable 12-hour schedules. Councilors emphasized oversight of any new cost implications. One councilmember noted the city should "rightfully scrutinize" added expenses but was willing to test the policy change and revisit it if needed. No formal vote was taken; council staff were directed to place an amendment to the ordinance on an upcoming agenda and the council asked the chief to report back with further recruitment measures and potential consultant options. The council's discussion separated the informal direction to amend the local ordinance (staff instructed to place the item on a future council agenda) from future formal action. There was no formal ordinance adoption or budget vote during the session. Looking ahead, the council asked that any additional measures identified by staff or consultants be returned to the council for consideration alongside potential budget impacts.