New funding for police officer

HOLMES BEACH – It took some discussion, but city commissioners voted to allow the Holmes Beach Police Department to add another officer to its ranks.

Commissioners voted three to two in favor of releasing funds earmarked in the budget for the new hire with Commissioners Kim Rash and Jayne Christenson voting no. Police Chief Bill Tokajer said that he’s vetted someone to potentially take the position but that, as of the Oct. 12 meeting, no one had been hired for the position since funding for it was pending commission approval.

The additional officer will bring the total of officers in the HBPD, including Tokajer, to 18, with 14 of those being patrol officers. By hiring the new officer, Tokajer said it brings the department up to a good staffing level and allows Lt. Brian Hall to take the second in command role that was eliminated to put more officers on patrol when Tokajer took over as chief nine years ago.

While Tokajer said the new hire is a part of his succession planning strategy, that strategy is to put a solid structure in place prior to his eventual retirement, not determine who the next chief of police will be in Holmes Beach.

Commissioner Jim Kihm said during the discussion that he’s concerned about Hall being pegged as Tokajer’s successor since he is related to Mayor Judy Titsworth. Kihm said he felt that relationship would be a conflict of interest in the city’s government structure. Titsworth said that she’s very proud of Hall and the career that he’s built over the years serving in the HBPD. Tokajer added that no one is guaranteed his job when he decides to retire, which he doesn’t plan to do any time soon.

While the mayor is an elected position serving a two-year term, the police chief is a city employee whose hiring is voted on by commissioners.

In her comments, Christenson said that she supports the HBPD and its officers but believes that an outside consultant should be hired to determine if the department needs another officer and, if so, Manatee County officials should be responsible for paying for that person rather than the city’s residents, due to the influx of tourism to Holmes Beach. Currently, Manatee County gives the HBPD $50,000 per year to patrol the county-owned beaches in Holmes Beach. Tokajer said he and Titsworth continue to work to get that amount raised.

Kihm added that he agrees the amount given to Holmes Beach for police by the county should be higher due to the public safety issues surrounding increased tourism to the Island.

Rash said that while he fully supports the police department, he also agrees that the county needs to increase what they’re giving to the department on an annual basis.

“Manatee County is profiting off of the Island and needs to step up to the bar,” he said. “The residents shouldn’t have to carry the burden for all of Manatee County’s wants.”

Commissioner Carol Soustek said that she voted in favor of hiring a new officer because she wants to stay ahead of enforcement in Holmes Beach. She added that she believes adequate staffing in the HBPD is essential to keeping crime rates low in the city.

Tokajer said in 2020, HBPD officers made 379 arrests, a significantly higher number than those made by Bradenton Beach and Longboat Key police officers.

HBPD Officer Michael VanHorn addressed commissioners during public comment, relaying some of the difficulties that the city’s police force faces on a regular basis, including a large number of calls that require multiple officers to respond, particularly if there is an aggressive suspect, such as in drug, intoxication and gun-related incident responses. He relayed examples of multiple incidents which occurred on one recent weekend where more than one officer was needed to respond to a call due to a violent suspect. In each instance, VanHorn said multiple officers were needed to subdue the suspect with minimal force and to try to prevent injury to their fellow officers.

The minimum shift staff for the HBPD includes two patrol officers, a sergeant and a mid-shift officer to ease the workload during shift change hours.