Sneads Votes 3-2 to Disband Police Department

The Sneads Town Council voted 3-2 Tuesday night to disband the town's police department effective October 1, ending months of debate over whether the small town could continue supporting its own law enforcement agency.

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office will assume responsibility for law enforcement inside the town. According to information presented with the decision, the Sheriff's Office will provide coverage without an additional charge to the municipal budget.

Vice President Angie Locke made the motion to transfer law enforcement coverage entirely to the Sheriff's Office. Kay Neel seconded it. Locke, Neel and Timmy Perry voted in favor; Council President Mike Weeks and Tim Arnold voted against.

An earlier motion failed for lack of a second. After additional discussion, the motion was made again and passed.

"I think that there's no sense in us continuing to review and review and review and come up with the same answer," Locke said before making the motion. She later stressed that she did not want to eliminate the department but believed the council had to act for the town's financial health.

The decision is a dramatic reversal from the direction residents urged earlier this year. At the March 10 council meeting, several residents called on the town to hire another officer. One speaker said Brett Preston, now the town's only police officer, needed help. Another questioned whether money previously allocated for law enforcement salaries could be used to add staff. Five months later, the council voted to close the department instead.

Town Manager Bill Rentz said Tuesday's decision was driven by the budget, not by a lack of support for Preston or for local law enforcement.

"It's really based on economics," Rentz said after the meeting. "It's really all it's based on."

Rentz said the town has recently operated with one officer, who has had to cover different shifts and days off. Even at that reduced staffing level, he estimated the basic annual cost at more than $200,000 when salary, insurance and special-risk retirement are included. Additional requirements, including cybersecurity costs, would push the expense higher.

The difference among the budget options before the council was about $450,000, Rentz said. He told council members that staff could not complete the coming budget until they decided whether to keep the department or rely on the Sheriff's Office. The new fiscal year begins October 1.

Neel also pressed for a decision, saying the council had repeatedly reviewed the same issue while the budget deadline drew closer.

Rentz said Sneads has struggled to recruit and retain officers because the town cannot match salaries offered by larger agencies. He estimated that the Jackson County Sheriff's Office pays about $10,000 more than Sneads can offer, while other agencies offer still higher salaries. Attrition reduced a department that once had seven officers to one.

The pressure is magnified by Sneads' general revenue, which Rentz placed at about $1.2 million. He said state-shared and other general revenues have remained essentially flat for three years while fuel, retirement and insurance costs have continued to rise. The town's insurance expense alone recently increased by $12,000, he said.

Sneads is also losing smaller sources of revenue that carry significant weight in a town with a limited budget. Rentz said the departure of the tag office cost the town approximately $13,000 a year in rent. The anticipated closure of the school will eventually eliminate nearly $20,000 a year in utility revenue. Town officials are also watching the possibility of reduced property tax revenue.

"When you only have a little over a million-dollar budget and you've got nine of 10 departments to run out of that, every $10,000 matters," Rentz said. "Everything has gone up except our income."

Rentz, who has a law enforcement background, said he understands the value of a local police department but has a responsibility to prevent the town from spending beyond its means. He called the closure a sign of the financial strain facing small municipalities across Florida.

"I'm very much pro-law enforcement, but my first job is to manage the budget, and I don't want to be the one that lets the town go belly-up," he said.

Rentz said the vote was not a reflection on Preston, who is well-liked and has served the town for years. He said officials have tried to help ensure Preston has employment options and noted that the officer has already received offers.

The vote leaves residents facing a fundamental change in how their calls for service will be handled. Beginning October 1, Sneads will no longer employ its own police officer, and deputies dispatched by the Sheriff's Office will provide law enforcement coverage. Details such as expected staffing, patrol frequency and response arrangements were not included in the information available Tuesday night.

The council's action settles the largest unknown in the proposed budget, but it does not erase the public concern that preceded it. Residents who asked the town to strengthen its police presence earlier this year will instead see the local department close when the new budget year begins.