Dewey votes to expand police force

Dewey Beach commissioners approved hiring three full-time police officers at a special meeting Aug. 4.

After several members of the public and council expressed support for the additional officers, Mayor Bill Stevens and Commissioners Paul Bauer, Elisabeth Gibbings and David Jasinski voted to approve Chief Constance Speake’s proposal. Commissioner Gary Persinger abstained from voting.

Speake first requested the officers July 21, when she detailed 12-hour shifts for her patrol teams that would ensure a minimum of two employees working at all times. Including the K-9 service dog, Lt. Cliff Dempsey and Speake, the chief said the force would comprise 13 full-time officers. 

Three of her current seasonal officers want to attend the police academy in the fall, she said, and she wants to hire them before they take jobs elsewhere. At the July 21 meeting, commissioners said they trusted Speake’s judgment, but they wanted to ensure the hiring is done in a financially sound manner and properly per the charter.

The town budgeted for 20 seasonals and hired 11, Speake said, noting that the number of officers needed from other agencies in the summer will go down with increased full-time staffing.

Hiring the officers is financially prudent, Gibbings said, noting additional police staff would assist the town with obtaining insurance. By hiring the officers now, Bauer said, the recruits will be ready to go by Memorial Day 2024. The town is also likely to receive grant money to fund vehicles, he said.

Persinger said he fully supported the chief’s need for more staff, but he was concerned that he did not have a sufficient financial analysis to understand the implications of the staffing plan. 

There would be an additional burden in paying the three officers’ salaries for the remainder of the fiscal year, Persinger said. Revenues from parking, rental licenses and accommodations taxes are down, he said, noting he would prefer to nail down the financial analysis and vote on the matter in a couple weeks.

Gibbings said the chief has identified three officers she wants to retain. If the town waits, it might lose them, she said. Stevens said the special meeting was called in advance of the regular monthly meeting because of the sense of urgency in presenting the officers with offers and getting them into the academy.

So far, Stevens said, the town has spent more than $77,000 on outside special and overtime payroll, a significant amount of money in a short time, because not enough officers are on the streets. 

Town Manager Bill Zolper said almost half of the money budgeted for seasonal officers was not used, as the town budgeted about $300,000 for 20 summer seasonals and hired just over half. 

The town is scheduled to receive a county grant next year to purchase a police vehicle, he said, and he would like to sell two vehicles at auction and purchase their replacements.

Noting all comments supported hiring the officers, Stevens said the town will have to look at the remainder of the 2024 fiscal year budget to make sure the numbers are balanced, and prepare an amended staffing plan for the 2025 fiscal year.