Trim police clout to save city finances, expert says

[stjr]

Here is an intriguing idea.  Let's hope it gets a good airing:

Trim police clout to save city finances, expert says
Some say Sheriff John Rutherford's pull undermines the mayor's pull.

    * By Tia Mitchell
    * Story updated at 12:52 AM on Sunday, Oct. 18, 200

The city can save money and turn down the political noise by creating a new police department and allowing the mayor to hire its leader, a Jacksonville criminal justice expert says.

Sheriff John Rutherford and the police union are a political juggernaut that threatens the city's long-term financial health, according to Michael Hallett, chairman of the University of North Florida's department of criminology and criminal justice.

Hallett told the Charter Review Commission last week that an elected sheriff shouldn't have so many law enforcement responsibilities under his purview.

He's pushing for creation of a metropolitan police department to handle most law enforcement duties. That agency would be led by a police chief appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council.

The police union and Rutherford, elected countywide and currently serving in his second term, have pushed over the years for more city resources and greater independence, Hallett said.

But the sheriff's ability to lobby for resources at the local, state and federal levels undermine the city's strong mayor form of government, he said.

"In the current situation, the sheriff doesn't have to listen to anybody," Hallett said Friday.

Rutherford disagrees. He believes the city's current structure has created an effective and efficient Sheriff's Office, while his status as an elected official makes him more accountable.

"The best government is always the government closest to the people, because the people have the power to elect and re-elect," he said.

Rutherford cautioned that creating a second law enforcement agency would lead to another bureaucracy and duplication, which runs counter to the intent of the city consolidation approved 41 years ago.

Lou Ritter, the last mayor before consolidation, supports Hallett's proposal. Ritter said corruption scandals undermined the public's faith in the police department and city agencies. In the late 1960s, he was given the opportunity to conduct a national search and appoint a police chief that served for one year.

Ritter said the appointed chief was effective, reducing crime at a time when it was on the rise nationally. The former mayor credits the de-politicizing of the position.

"It was not a good ol' boy system of coming up through the ranks," he said.

Consolidation proponents originally proposed having a director of public safety, appointed by the mayor to head the Sheriff's Office. But the final charter approved by the Legislature instead called for an elected sheriff.

Hallett suspects the corruption scandals caused the Duval County delegation in Tallahassee to opt for elected leaders rather than appointed ones.

There are now unintended consequences, according to Hallett. He points out that the Sheriff's Office budget keeps growing, now consuming more than a third of the city's $1 billion in annual spending.

"The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is a very powerful public monopoly that uses the power of an independent sheriff and a very powerful employee union to monopolize the budget," Hallett said.

A new police department would require new employee contracts, which could also solve the city's pension crisis, he maintains.

Hallett has asked the Charter Review Commission to create a feasibility committee to study his idea, including potential costs and other examples around the nation. He points out that most consolidated government have appointees leading their police departments.

Rutherford, however, points to the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, which is headed by an elected sheriff.

Nelson Cuba, president of the police union, disputes the notion that an appointed chief would help make law enforcement less political.

The union will still wrangle with the mayor's office over collective bargaining, the City Council over the budget, and the top law enforcement official over officer discipline and other day-to-day issues, Cuba said.

The current system works, he said, because the people ultimately decide if the sheriff is doing a good job.

"If we believe that the sheriff is not doing his job because he's not fighting, then you move him out," Cuba said.

The Charter Review Commission is hearing testimony weekly on various issues related to the city government. Eventually the committee will submit a list of recommendations to the City Council.

Council President Richard Clark said he's intrigued by Hallett's idea and feels it's worth examining further. But he cautioned against making politics the catalyst for change.

"I don't know if the rationale to change the system should necessarily be political power, because that's a perception issue," Clark said. "That's making a decision based on the personality that is in it today."

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-10-18/story/trim_police_clout_to_save_city_finances_expert_says

[buckethead]

It sounds like the Sherrifs Office is a very powerful entity.

How much more power would you grant any Mayor? Perhaps if City Council had a say, it could reduce cronyism, and outright Mayoral Militia

[stjr]

Hope the JSO doesn't get "Courthouse envy" and ask for one of these!

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Los Angeles Police Department is officially being handed the keys to its new headquarters.

Local officials including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and outgoing police Chief William Bratton are scheduled to open the gleaming 10-story, $437 million downtown structure Saturday morning.

The so-called Police Administration Building will replace Parker Center four blocks away. The 1955 facility has outlived its service life and is likely to be demolished.

Voters in 2002 approved a bond measure for new police facilities, and construction began on the new headquarters in 2007.

The new building features a broad glass front police say represents a new era of transparency for a department once resistant to public scrutiny.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Any pics on this structure?

[thelakelander]

[stjr]

That cost $437 million?  How many sf?  Geeesh - I didn't think it was possible to make the Courthouse look like a deal!