Lewes council approves police force expansion

Lewes Mayor and City Council has authorized Police Chief Tom Spell to expand his police force by two officers.

The department has had 13 officers or fewer since 1999; council’s action allows expansion to as many as 15 officers.

“We strive and desire to be staffed with a minimum of two on-duty patrol officers per shift so we can adequately service and protect our citizens, businesses and visitors,” said Spell, who has been chief for five years. “Over the past several years, we haven’t met this standard.”

Lewes is currently operating with 10 police officers, as there are two vacancies and one officer is on medical leave. By authorizing the chief to expand his force, council is granting permission to the chief to hire four new officers.

Spell has identified several candidates who meet the department’s hiring standard. He noted that the pool of qualified applicants was thinner than usual, aligning with a national trend.

Spell said he asked for the increased police force in part because Lewes continues to grow in size and is becoming more of a year-round community.

“I’m also very concerned with the increase in officer fatigue and the increase in stress for police officers,” he said.

Assistant City Manager and Finance Officer Ellen Lorraine McCabe said it costs about $100,000 to hire and train an officer. The annual cost after training is about $70,000 to $75,000.

Council voted 3-1 to approve the staff increase at its Feb. 11 meeting. Councilman Rob Morgan objected, while Councilman Tim Ritzert abstained.

Due to council’s action, the police department’s budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year, which begins April 1, increased about 10 percent. Most of the increase is attributed to the anticipated hiring of new officers and wage increases for existing officers outlined in a collective bargaining agreement.

The police department’s budget of $964,000 is about 25 percent of the city’s overall budget.

Other budget items

City officials are preparing to transfer oversight of lifeguards from the police department to the city’s parks and marina administrator.

“This came out of discussion at the police review ad hoc committee,” said City Manager Ann Marie Townshend. “Because it is not a law enforcement role, we decided that it would be a better fit under the parks and marina administrator. This would free up the police administration to focus on policing-related matters.”

The city will continue its annual $75,000 donation to the fire department, which is not part of the city government. Following a presentation from the fire department last year, mayor and city council bumped the donation and added a donation check-box to residents’ tax bills with funds going to the fire department, resulting in $10,000 in additional funds. The city also pays for utilities for the department’s Savannah Road facility, and the Lewes Board of Public Works makes a $50,000 annual donation to the department.

Mayor and city council are budgeting to expand the parking enforcement division to eight employees, two more than last year. The additional officers are expected to be used to patrol the residential streets of Lewes Beach between Savannah Road and Roosevelt Inlet. A previous version of the budget called for a full-time parking supervisor, but the position has been dropped back down to part time.

Budget discussions continue at 1 p.m., Friday, March 5, when mayor and city council is expected to discuss the capital budget and capital accounts. They will also review changes to the budget that have been made since meetings began in February. A link to the meeting can be found on the agenda at lewes.civicweb.net.