HOLMES BEACH – City leaders hit a snag during the final hearing for the 2021-22 fiscal year budget when two commissioners voted against approving the proposed budget.
When commissioners met on Sept. 28 for the final public hearing of the budget, Commissioners Jayne Christenson and Kim Rash voted against adopting the proposed budget, causing an issue requiring a quick amendment to get the budget passed before the new fiscal year began Oct. 1.
Rash, who voted against the budget in the first hearing earlier in September, reiterated his position that he and some of the Holmes Beach residents he’s spoken to feel that the city’s budget has ballooned out of control and is too large for the size of the city.
During discussion, Christenson said she was voting against the budget because she didn’t support the proposed budget for the Holmes Beach Police Department, which includes funds to support the hiring of a new officer and all of the equipment that goes along with a new hire.
A new hire in the department would bring the total number of sworn officers, including Chief Bill Tokajer, to 18. Tokajer had previously stated that hiring a new officer is essential to policing the city and its growing number of visitors along with planning for the future of the department. Since Tokajer came on board nine years ago, there hasn’t been a deputy chief in the department, which would be standard and something that he wants to remedy as he begins to look toward retirement.
Christenson said she wasn’t in favor of approving the budget as presented and made a motion to exclude the funding for a new officer that ultimately failed to win approval from the majority of her fellow commissioners. When it came time to vote for the budget as presented, Christenson and Rash voted against it, causing the measure to fail for not receiving a supermajority vote of a minimum of four to one.
The police department budget represents $4,200,339 of the total $22,226,872 budget, including carryover and reserves.
During discussion, Tokajer was given the opportunity to reply to the concerns Christenson raised about the police department budget. He said that in his opinion, the department with 18 sworn officers including himself, one detective and a school resource officer for Anna Maria Elementary School, is adequately staffed for the number of residents in Holmes Beach, not the number of visitors the city hosts, which his officers are tasked with policing. Typically, he said there is one sergeant and two officers on each shift with a mid-shift officer working afternoons during shift change.
“This budget has been discussed between department heads and individual commissioners since May of this year,” Tokajer said. “To drop this bomb at the final hour is wrong and a slap in the face to the entire department. This has also put our city treasurer who has been open and transparent and readily available to all commissioners in a challenging position as revenue is at risk if budget deadlines are not met. I wouldn’t have brought this forth this year if I didn’t feel succession planning was necessary. Prior to my arrival, there was a deputy chief in the lieutenant position. I gave up this position to put more boots on the ground and to develop my team.”
“I would hope that after nine years as your chief of police, the professionalism your officers show every day and the significant reduction in crime we have shown that I would have the unconditional support of the entire commission. I know that I have the support of the community at large,” Tokajer continued. He added that he had hosted one-on-one meetings with commissioners throughout the budget process and had not received any negative feedback concerning the hiring of a new officer. Tokajer went on to say that if the funding for a new hire was not approved by commissioners that the department’s overtime budget would have to be adjusted.
“For this to happen at the last minute is not responsible governing,” he concluded.
Christenson said that she felt Tokajer’s comments were “bullying” and that he was attempting to use intimidation to get what he wants, in this case, funds for a new officer. She also said that she didn’t see how her decision to not vote for the budget as presented was “dropping a bomb” because Tokajer had given a prepared statement on the matter.
Mayor Judy Titsworth spoke up and said that she had been alerted to Christenson’s objections just before the meeting by city Treasurer Lori Hill and had told Tokajer, to allow him approximately 45 minutes to come up with a response. Hill and Christenson had met earlier in the day to discuss the commissioner’s concerns over the budget.
Christenson added that if the department needs additional officers or if more policing is needed that it shouldn’t be on the residents of Holmes Beach to supply funding through taxes for that, that Manatee County leaders should contribute more funding to the department or help out with policing.
When Commissioners Terry Schaefer, Carol Soustek and Jim Kihm all agreed that they supported the budget as-is with the police budget as presented, Christenson amended her suggested amendment for the budget to allow the police budget to remain intact but to require Tokajer to receive commission approval before being able to hire a new officer.
That amendment passed and then the budget with the amendment passed with unanimous support from commissioners.
For Tokajer to hire a new officer for the HBPD, he will need the support of three of the five Holmes Beach city commissioners, or a simple majority.
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