Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/127088
Sarasota News Leader May 3, 2013 portant. And everyday things: We want to do a reach-out to the kids. We'd like to give them a cup or something, but where do we get the money from? A foundation would help us. "It would be a civilian board, raising money for the Police Department. We could come up with a list of items and come before the board for review. They could say, 'That doesn't seem reasonable.' Or they could say, 'Yes, I can see where you could use that training.'" You are one of a number of new senior managers in the city. In the past few months, we have seen a new finance director, utilities director, information technology director, human resources director and city manager. Do you sense an appetite or willingness to try new things? "Absolutely. Tom Barwin is a great city manager and I'm so happy to be working with him. He's visionary and innovative in his thought processes and very methodical in what he does. Page 20 ees that are there. They'll bring with them what worked really well, the legacy stuff. And then you have the new people, maybe with different ideas, concepts and philosophies, best practices from where they came from." One of your predecessors, Chief [Francis] Scott, once told me, "The worst mistake I ever made was putting air conditioning in the cars." Have you spotted any "worst mistakes" you would like to correct? "I wish I could get the officers out of the cars more and walking and riding bikes more. We're working on that. A lot of them like it and enjoy it and will enjoy it. "The 12-hour shifts is something [else]. I just don't see the officers seeing each other. I think there's a disconnect in the department right now, with this building — six different floors — and everybody disconnected with each other. And working shifts where they're 12 here and there is little overlap. There's no time. They're communicating like the modern era with texting or emails. I think that camaraderie, that family-type of feel, the importance of one-on-one contact with other police officers [is important]. Reading it in an email is not the same. "We're all looking at it with a fresh new set of eyes. It's good, because if you have something that goes a long time without somebody outside looking at it and saying, 'Why do we do this? How do we do this?' sometimes people get a little prickly about it: 'Why are you ask- "Those are the things I see that I'd like to have the opportunity to look at and examine. Is this ing me?' the best way? "I'll say I'm not necessarily trying to change things. I'm trying to understand how and why "I want officers to work the same sector all we do things. It could be the best way. But the time. We really need to get officers back there might be a better way. You have to have into ownership. When I worked a sector in a fresh set of eyes every once in a while. It Baltimore County when I first started [as a will only make things better. To me, that's rookie police officer], if somebody else had to the American way. We're always pragmatic in take a call in my sector, I was so upset. If there was a crime in my sector, I took it personally. I adapting and changing. didn't even live there, but it was mine. I had a "It's not a bad thing. It's a good thing. You still sense of personal pride about that area. They have the history, with the people, the employ- were my people, my citizens, my businesses.