Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/110922
Sarasota News Leader February 22, 2013 Page 15 They need leadership. And hopefully Chief Bernadette [DiPino] will be able to provide that. In any industry you will find some people who are better than other people. Hopefully, there���s a weeding-out process that allows you to separate the wheat from the chaff. There���s always room for improvement, and I think ��� from what I���ve read about Chief Bernie ��� she���s on the way to doing some of those things. I think our SPD is fantastic. I really do. I know many of the officers. They���re very, very dedicated officers. They love doing what they are doing. I think to some extent they���ve had a rudderless ship for the last few years. With leadership comes direction, and you get a better police force because of it. ��������� The Sarasota Police Department (SPD) consumes the largest fraction of the city���s budget, using more than the sum of all property taxes collected annually. Is there room for improvement in how Sarasota polices itself? If so, where and how? Lumpkin: I���m sure [there is room for improvement]. Obviously the Police Department needs to run as efficiently as possible. I believe we have the right chief who is going to look for ways to run the department efficiently. Some have suggested to me, and I���m looking into it, that parts of the budget are inflated anyway. When a police officer goes to get an oil change, it���s going to cost quadruple the amount and the money is sent somewhere else. The budget may be a bit bloated. Kelvin Lumpkin/Photo by Robert Hackney Then we���ve got to find a solution to the pension issue. We���ll talk about that a bit later. Lumpkin: OK. The first thing the chief of police has to do is to make sure that the department runs as efficiently as possible. There can be many ways to do that, to do the best we can. I think it would be a good idea to give some incentive to have officers live in the city. I know there was, at one point, but I thought it was a very small amount. It might be cheaper in the long run if it was a yearly bonus, $5,000 for living in the city. Because I���ve heard of SPD cars in Tampa and Port Charlotte.